Air Force Spec Ops Airman loses leg during operations against ISIS in Afghanistan

When a US Air Force Combat Controller was seriously wounded in Afghanistan, his fellow airmen and community swooped in to help.

Combat Controller Justin “JD” Day lost a leg and part of his hand in an IED explosion on July 10, while he was attached to Special Forces troops hunting down ISIS militants in Afghanistan.

A member of the 24th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Day and his wife, Aubry, are expecting a child later this year.

“Justin is doing well, relative to his situation,” his father, Brian Day, said in a statement. “We want people to know that we still have service members downrange and the threat is still real. When you have a child deployed, you feel very close to the threat, waking up every morning with a pit in your stomach, fearing a phone call or a knock at the door. All of our service members and their families deserve our support and recognition.”

According to Northwest Florida Daily News, Day is currently at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He was visited by a general and awarded the Purple Heart in his sleep.

His family in his native Ohio were surprised that Combat Controllers from across the United States came to see them in their time of despair, including CCTs from Washington state, who arrived at the family home and held firm until a CCT from Day’s Florida duty station could make it in.

With a baby due on Christmas Day and a career likely nearing its end, “JD” faces challenges ahead. Despite this, his local community, comrades and others pulled together on Go Fund Me, surpassing the initial $10,000 goal and raising over $105,668 in 12 days.

According to his Go Fund Me page, Day was visited by his brother over the weekend, who happened to be celebrating a birthday. They reportedly got to eat Taco Bell and spend some time together, which is a good time by just about anyone’s standard.

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