Today, I salute 51-year-old Army National Guard and Marine Veteran Jose Pequeno. Jose was a military police officer on patrol with the Army National Guard in Ramadi, Iraq, in February 2006. An insurgent tossed a grenade into the turret opening in the roof of his Humvee, and it exploded. His driver was killed instantly. Pequeno’s injuries were so severe that his comrades thought he was also dead. He was not, but his life was changed forever. He lost 51% of his brain and a portion of his left side, but he refused to give up. Today, in a wheelchair and unable to speak, Jose is a bright light, helping at fundraisers, but the one thing he misses is his dress blues. He wanted more than anything to have dress blues so he could attend the Marine Ball. Then he met fellow Marine Jerry Shaffer, who runs the Red Star Foundation. He learned of Jose’s desire for new dress blues and four months later, he surprised Jose with a new uniform, the hat, the gloves, all of it. Jose cried happy tears. Thank you, Jerry, for your kindness, and thank you, Jose, for your service.