Please stand and join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Before we started, there are a few people in the audience i would like to recognize tonight. I understand that there is a large group. From garys families. Standwe ask everyone to so that we can thank you all for being here tonight . [applause] also here with us this evening, our congressional medal of honor recipient, robert friend, one of the last surviving tuskegee airmen. Good to have you with us this evening. [applause] [indiscernible] thank you so much, we appreciate having you here. [applause] melissa and a very special thank you to lori bakker, sitting right here, the secular director of the incident hero foundation, who donated the exoskeleton to gary. [applause] so, there are many honorable and procedures things that we you to do here as employees of the Ronald Reagan foundation, hosting events were sitting cabinet members, hosting debates, last night we had president george w. Bush year, but for me getting to know and meet our countrys heroes outweighs anything else i have the privilege to do. Getting to know tonights speaker has been the highlight of my career. This event happened because we were looking for speakers who could tie into our interactive. For those who have not seen the exhibition, its a largescale highly immersive exhibit that showcases how Science Fiction can become reality. It shows how modernday technology has been influenced by Popular Culture from the 50s. Changing the ways that we live, work, move, connect, and play. So, how could we find a speaker that epitomizes this . We ringcommended tonights speaker to the library saying heres a guy literally wearing a wearable robot. What better speaker could we find . I found this quote from a 2013 the company that makes the exoskeleton. Science technology, helping people to walk again who otherwise couldnt. Leading to tonights guest. , u. S. Army, retired. He served as a member of the armys elite 160th special operations regiment. As we saw in the video just a few moments ago, while conducting operations in iraq is helicopter suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure and crash landed. As a result of the hard landing, he suffered a broken back and was paralyzed below the waist. He has continued to serve as a simulator flight instructor. To 2013, when he became the First Military recep ian of an skeleton for home use. At 2014 he had completed over 200,000 using the device. As we just saw in the video, and of not sure about you, i was in the back room crying. A few months ago he walked his wife down the aisle. As president reagan once said, veterans are the heroes among us , let us resolve to live up to their example. I can do give no better persons example that i would like to live up to. Ladies and gentlemen, gary linfoot, with his wife, mary. [applause] [cheers and applause] gary thank you. Oh, my legs are shaking. [laughter] gary well, good evening. Thank you for joining us. It is an honor and a pleasure to be here at the Ronald Reagan library and have the opportunity to speak with you. Celebrateke to [indiscernible] , who celebrated his 97th birthday last week. Hope i look that good when im your age. I would also like to recognize lori baker for producing ok . That film you saw. She did a fabulous job on it. I think it really captures the what were doing. Tonight im going to tell you a story. My hope is that you hear the story of a family that has overcome difficulties and met challenges head on, never backed down, never gave up. Its a story of hope. Its our story. The life and lives of my family were changed forever on may 31. I have been in the army for 21 years and had been a pilot for 19 years. In the 160th for 11 years. I had completed one, rotation and following 9 11 i was on my 861 daystion to erect. All told. I was the senior flight lead, First Battalion and we were known as the six guys. Our mission was to provide Close Air Support for the best special Operations Forces the world had ever known. I was at the apex of my career. There was no other job in the world i wanted. I was in my element and exactly right needed to be. If you recall, the nation had been at war from a seven years of that. He had been in iraq for five years. 2008 was the end of a very successful surge. We had them on the run. For my family, the constant deployments to iraq for five times the year had become somewhat routine. I would tell my wife and kids could buy and drive the compound and be gone for the next 90 days. Missing holidays, birthdays, special occasions, sports, life went on at home without me. Deployed i could think about was being home again. When i was home i could think about was getting back to a rack. Years iin all of those never really quite made it back home. In 2008. Was our life that was the routine. Up aoing to loosen this little bit, because i can hardly breathe. [laughter] gary i call this my girdle. Gets my gut sucked in. [laughter] yeah, im good, thank you. That was the routine for us. But this night was anything but routine. T of may, 2008, someone ill look at day and completed some pt, like i always did, showered, and preflight to my age six. I was updated by the crew chiefs on the status of our aircraft and i walked over to the joint Operations Center to get a report on the daily operations of aircraft and a warning on the mission that night. It was shaping up to be a routine night as related to our french counterparts in the joint task force. Around 10 00 we departed for the airbase and headed for a Mission Sports site in baghdad. The brits were always fun to work with. Although we share a common language, they were often difficult to understand, at times requiring people to translate into american for us. [laughter] night hadbriefer this a very heavy accent and at the end of the briefing i turned over to my guys and i said a, did anybody understand a word that he just said . Everyone shook their head, no, we had not. That we were able to get good clarification and were good to go. The mission that night was simple and one that we had literally performed hundreds of times. The brits were flying to an American Forward Operating base south of baghdad there the ground force would link up for American Fighting vehicles and armored humvees and ride to the objective. They would leave the vehicles at the vehicle dropoff and quietly, hopefully undetected, walk up to the objective, where they would surround the target building. The person of interest, the target that night, the person they wanted to detain, for us it was really low hanging fruit at that point. Now, things got loud, meaning they had the assault on the building and we would be called in to provide Close Air Support. To ourired, proceeded planned holding area. When we took off i use the power of the heavily laden egg shaped 649. I was loaded with rockets. 800 pounds of fuel. Given the maximum gross rate, the 650 horsepower engine easily came to life with a rotor blade turning the hot night air into submission and we left. At 300 feet i called out the departure using the callsign of havoc and the dogs of war slipped off into the night. After takeoff we heard a strange noise coming from the rear of our aircraft. It was a loud blowing noise of sorts. Unknown to us it was the first and only indication of failure of the engine driveshaft. Discussed the i sound and, unable to determine the source, with all outfit instrumentation reading normal, no unusual vibrations, we convince ourselves that the heater had opened somehow. We continued our mission. Eventually the noise pretty much all but ceased. June 1, midnight, zero illumination, visibility was three miles with blowing dust, wind out of the north, 20 to 25 knots. We had just arrived in our planned holding area and were at a speed of 70 knots indicated, heading 180. Suddenly there was a muffled but loud explosion and a sort of pop coming from the rear of the aircraft. Driveshaft to the the engine, it disintegrated and we lost the power to the main rotor. Leftnt violently to the and we fell from the sky. I entered whats called an auto rotation and we put the aircraft the hard left turn. I scanned the instruments and adjusted the collective control us simultaneously calling the radio, making a mayday, picking up the landing area. We were too heavy and falling fast. This was going to be a hard landing. My last memory of the landing was seeing the blur of the ground rushing up through the night vision goggles. I remember hearing the warning of low rotor and seeing the low rpm on the vid. I told my copilot, greg, to brace for impact. And then we hit. Total time was less than 10 seconds. The impact itself was very surreal. If you have ever been in a violent highspeed automobile crash, you can pretty much relate to what it felt like. After the sound of the aircraft crushing the rotor blades hit the ground and the tail section aircraft,from the there was an eerie silence. A fragment of bone at pushed into my spinal cord. I felt mywas instant, legs fall to the left. I smelled a strong odor of jet fuel. We may be on fire, yelled the directed that we needed to get out. With my right hand i grabbed the door frame through the shattered that time i was at realized they could not move my legs. Then the pain kicked in. Greg had suffered a broken back and concussion. To this day he has no memory of the crash or the events leading up to the accident. Greg is able to egress and was lying in pain in front of the aircraft. We had missed landing in the water and the canal by only feet. I grabbed my rifle and wanted to boost our signature ship sister ship to say that we were alive and warm and for approaching personnel to stay away. Greg heard the shots and he was knocked somewhat loopy. He thought we were being shot at. Areelled, gary, they shooting at us. I told him it was only me. I stopped shooting. Then i tried to contact ship overhead in the embedded radio with no success. At this time i checked my legs hoping to find out they had just been broken. They were both intact. At this point i knew i had suffered a spinal injury. Racedhoughts and images through my mind and they told me the same thing. This was going to suck. After about 10 minutes my friend appeared out my door and asked if we had been shot down and i said i believed it was mechanical failure. Steve quickly triaged myself and aircrafthe radioed the to get us. In the short time toolbar blackhawks with about 20 rangers secure the crash site. Greg was sent back to evacuate and not wait for the Pararescue Team to cut me out. After theone hour crash, which really is remarkable, if you consider everything, less than an hour i was on my way to the first of several hospitals headed to the United States. A nurse hand me the phone and said go ahead, call your wife. I called mary. Thats me. Gary thats her. Chief of staff. [laughter] gary so, mary had just walked in the front door after a long day at the ball field with our daughter when the phone rang and she was surprised to hear my voice. I asked her of anyone from the unit had contacted her. She said no and immediately thought that something bad had i told her i had been in effect crashed and broke my back. Mary lisette and i would live with a life of back pain but really i was ok. I told her i cannot move my legs. She mainly went into crisis mode and had the frame of mind to tommy that the talk to the kids to tell the they did was ok. He would be a sleepless night for her and the kids. Im sorry. Asked if this meant is that heading back to iraq again. Hours i was on my way to Walter Reed Army medical center. The first the three hospitals with roots in spend the first three months in recovery and rehab. With married by my side when began our journey together. Injuries is a unique and complex injury. Known to injuries are ever exactly the same. The effects of the injuries i had never thought of that would soon discover. Beyond the loss of movement to my legs there was the loss of bladder and bowel control, sexual, dignity. Depression is common in the paint never goes away. That pain never goes away. It is a cruel injury. Those three months removed from walter reed to tampa, florida, into the Shepherd Center in atlanta. All the while discovering more about the injury and the skills we needed to survive this new normal of being a paraplegic. I was focused on recovery and getting home while mary was focused on what we needed a we are at home to include all men vehicle modifications, special equipment, continued therapy, in the list went on and on. They made a pretty good team. The next year was all about learning the reality of being a paraplegic. Many hours coordinating with doctors to get things done. We had to learn how to patiently navigate through an immense bureaucracy. In january of 2010, i was medically retired from the army with 23 years of service. I began to work as a flight instructor, teaching new aviators to the one 60th. That 16 160th. , that timeat summer of my life as a blur of change. I believe i fell into depression. I definitely know i took out a lot of my anger and frustration on mary. I was angry. Ashamed of what i had become. I lost my selfworth as a man, as a husband, and as a father. Being an elite special operations attack helicopter pilot, the alpha male and peter leader of remarkable warriors to someone who could do very little for himself. In my mind i was a failure. I think i did a good job of covering it up. I kept a smile on my face and a good attitude. I want to work, joked around, trying to exercise. I tried to cover the pain and do my best not to complain. On the inside i died a little more each day. Injury was beating me down and it was a death of 1000 cuts. Prayed to god he would take it from me. End. Ay it would just i wanted it all to be over. I have been to the edge, stared into the dark of this. This is what i know. We are all here for a short amount of time, but we are here with and for a purpose. I truly believe that god has a plan for all of us. If it were not true, we would not be here now. Because ofthe crash my superior flying skills, although if you ask me [laughter] gary i will tell you how good i am , and how goodlooking. God still has a purpose for me. He is not done with me yet. It is for this reason i chose in my family chooses to continue to fight the other. We have never given up. What i pretty got and told him i cannot do this, it was as if i heard him say, thats right, you cant do this alone. Thats why i have given you your wife and children and family and friends, and you have me. Believe the saying that god does not give you more than you can handle is incorrect. He will give you more than you can handle, but it is with him and through his strength that you will overcome and thrive. Mary and i made a conscious choice to move on and live out our lives to the best. Not only to ourselves but to our family and friends. We owe it to those we have lost. I have been given a Second Chance that many of my friends and fellow warriors did not get. I owe it to those who did not come home to live a life. There have been many difficulties on this path. I will not lie, it is been a tough road. In the end of believe it will all be worth it. Benefit from the kindness and generosity many people, end up in a recipient of hightech robotic equipment. Thatptical wheelchair climbs stairs and balances on two wheels and standing at a height of six feet. In waziristann before you tonight in which i stand before you tonight. Doing things i never thought possible. Talking to young kids about advanced robotics and hopefully planting that small seed in the mind of a child that will one day blossom into an idea that may change the world and may even when it help paralysis. We successfully completed an fda trial of the exoskeleton. Is now available for veterans through the v. A. We demonstrated that which not long ago was thought to be impossible. To paraplegic has fundamentally been able to stand and walk again. I was honored to be the first pair of collegiate to walk around the statute of liberty. 2015, the First Time Since the accident i was able to stand with mary by my side for the National Anthem in front of thousands of people at a race in bristol, tennessee. I will never take for granted the Little Things in life. The Little Things like being able to get out of the bed in the morning and use the bathroom in less than two minutes, or the ability to climb three steps to not been a neighbors door, for stand and hug my wife and kids. These things were lost to me. Some of them on getting back. As you saw in the video, i was able to walk my beautiful daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. Here is where he cant make contact with her because i will get choked up. I will stare right here. [laughter] gary i would offer the following advice. Trust in the lord, give thanks and remember each day is a gift. Get up every morning and find your purpose. Rewrite your story if needed, and discover what your why is. Why am i here . What is my purpose . It may not be what you thought it was but you have a purpose. Discover what it is and pursue it with everything you have. Surrender self of people you love, people who support you and will challenge you. These words of encouragement for each other. You never know what the simple words of encouragement will do for somebody. You may change their life. Bad things happen to good people. Throughout life at some point we will all face tragedies and hardships. Respectfully i say get over it. Ultimately you are responsible for your own happiness. You have to move on. No one ever said life would be easy. Play the card you have been dealt to the best of your ability. In the end it will have been worth it. Lastly, never, ever quit. Thank you. [applause] [crowd noise] [applause] to the left. Thats better. [laughter] [applause] we cant think you enough for sharing the remarkable story with us. Must give them one more round of applause. [applause] i know you have questions. I will try to take up too much time. Can we get a tissue appear . Up here . It squeezes the snot out of you. [laughter] i think watching you walk in , can you explain how the exoskeleton actually works . The it is basically replacement of bone and muscles of my body. If its around the outside of my body and mechanically electrically it will stand me up. I will take control of it. I will activate