We were set to have Civilian Force Arms owner Yanos Hagos as our main speaker at the last GSL Chicago meeting, but Mr. Hagos was unable to attend because of a family obligation.  He sent one of his employees, Marty Munns instead.  In doing a little background for the write-up for GunNews, I discovered a remarkable interview of Hagos done by Parade Magazine.

I knew Mr. Hagos was a walking example of the success America offers to its people, and that he came from a refugee camp in Sudan to America where he has become a successful businessman and he’s still in his early 30s.  I didn’t know just how much adversity Mr. Hagos had overcome to achieve his success.

We hope to have him back in an upcoming month (the sooner the better).

Here’s a couple of excerpts from Parade.   Go read the whole thing.  I’m not sure what America does to deserve men like this…

Yonas Hagos: ‘I Wanted to Pay Back America for What It’s Given Me’ 

Hagos spent most of his childhood in a refugee camp in Sudan, coming to the United States when he was 10. He joined the army after 9/11 because, he says, he felt this country had given him so much. Hagos was seriously injured by a rocket–propelled grenade and was later awarded a Purple Heart. Now recovered, he’s become a successful entrepreneur. He is wearing the backpack he had on when he was wounded.

 

How did you and your family come to the United States?

My parents fled a war-torn country, Ethiopia, both my mom and dad, and they both have an amazing story. My mom has told me what they endured. They fled to Sudan in the ’70s, they settled in a refugee camp and that’s when they had me and my brothers and sisters. I lived in Sudan until I was about 9. In 1992, my father brought us here. He actually came here ahead of us.
You were awarded a Purple Heart. Can you tell us about how you were wounded? Is it true you were pronounced dead on the scene?

…When I was hit, my M-16 came off of my hand, my Kevlar fell off of my head and I was dangling 10 feet above the ground. The guy on the side of the Howitzer grabbed my boots, grabbed my leg. They pulled me inside. They said my body was motionless and I fell back. I was out for about 45 seconds to a minute, no pulse. I was pronounced dead. They said “We got one KIA” (Killed in action.)

While I was down there, they said I woke up. And, I remember getting up. I looked around me and I seen the lieutenant, my buddy Green and my buddy Florian. I looked to my left and I saw chunks of my shoulder pretty much missing. And I remember coughing up blood. I could barely talk. And then the pain kicked in. I was screaming. Now, during this time, I did not know we were ambushed by a couple hundred insurgents. And, when they rushed me to our battalion, to the Uday and Qusay palace, they came under fire. They throw me in a Humvee and they ripped all my clothes.

What saved my life was that the medic, the female medic—I’ll never forget it—her reaction to get the IV going and trying to stop the bleeding and calming me down, helping me. I got air-vacced to the hospital in the Green Zone, which came under heavy attack. They shot an RPG through my window, but the generator in front of the window stopped it. After that, I had surgery. The next morning they woke me up. I had another surgery. They flew me into Balad, which was like a tent city. There was an air base there.

…They told me I’d have only 50 percent mobility. But I’m now up to about 95 percent mobility. It wasn’t easy, but it’s been a long road.

 

Wow.  Just wow.