A Minnesota veteran who lost both of his legs in Iraq will run for Minnesota Representative in District 57. Sgt. John Kriesel is a Republican.
Minnesota National Guard Sgt. John Kriesel, left, greets Staff Sgt. Tim Nelson after 270 Iraq veterans returned to Camp Douglas, Wis., on Wednesday. Kriesel and Nelson were in the same vehicle last December when a roadside bomb blast killed two soldiers and cost Kriesel his legs. (BEN GARVIN, Pioneer Press)
KARE 11 reported, via Free Republic:
A war veteran who lost his legs in Iraq is now running for public office.
Sgt. John Kriesel says he’ll run as a Republican for the Minnesota House of Representatives District 57 seat, representing Cottage Grove, St. Paul Park and South St. Paul.
It’s the seat now held by Karla Bigham who announced she won’t seek re-election this fall.
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Sgt. Kriesel lost both his legs in a blast near Fallujah, Iraq on December 2, 2006. The same blast that killed two of his best friends. His injuries resulted in 25 surgeries over the course of just two months.
President George W. Bush presents a Purple Heart to Sgt. John Kriesel of Twin Cities, Minn., during a visit Friday, Dec. 22, 2006, to Walter Reed Army Medical Center where the National Guardsman is recovering from injuries suffered in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Looking on with Mrs. Laura Bush is Sgt. Kriesel’s wife, Katie, holding their 4-year-old son Broden and 5-year-old son Elijah. (White House photo by Eric Draper)
Godspeed, Sgt. John Kriesel.