First Sergeant blinded by mortar drives on in new life

Courtesy Photo | Injured in the line of duty in January, 1SG Jesse Acosta is making the best of hissituation.  

04.14.2006

Courtesy Story

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For the Soldiers taking an early morning run, it seemed like just another day of duty. Then they heard an order blaring over a loudspeaker.

The sound of "Incoming! Incoming! Take cover!" would change the life of 1st Sgt. Jesse Acosta forever as mortar rounds were hurdled through the air in January.

A round landed about 50 feet away from Acosta and shrapnel and shock waves flew through the air knocking down Acosta and Spc. Jimmy Caceras.

Acosta, with a detachment from the 376th Personnel Services Battalion out of Long Beach, Calif., was hit by shrapnel that cut through his face. He was taken to a hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and then was on his way home.

He is now blind. But there's no moaning and groaning from the 48-year-old NCO who held his troops together like glue.

"I accept this as a whole new chapter in my life," said Acosta in a phone interview from his home in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. "I haven't even had time to say "Why did this happen to me?"" Acosta has hit the ground running with a quest to overcome defeat and continue his life with a warrior's attitude.

"I'm grateful that I'm still alive," he said. "I've given thanks to God. I can still walk and hug my wife and children."

Acosta has been in training at the Palo Alto (Calif.) Department of Veterans Affairs School for the Blind.

"They're teaching me all the techniques to survive," he said. "My hands are my new eyes."

He is learning to walk into a room and, using his hands, get oriented touching the chairs and walls and get a mental picture of front, back, right and left.

He also said he is learning about new technology in which someone can scan a sheet of paper and it reads the letters to the person.

"It could be a bank statement, a 401-K or something else important," Acosta said.

Acosta has received great support from his Soldiers who have called him at home many times. First Lt. Lisa Christenson, the 376th PSB Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment commander, had escorted him for two weeks to Germany and then to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C.

"Even though he learned there was little chance of regaining his sight, he was still upbeat and helpful and wanted to know if the Soldiers were all right," she said. "He is one of the most selfless people I've ever known," she said. "Everything he did was about taking care of the Soldiers."

Spc. Helen Lee, 376th administrative clerk, was on tower-guard duty the morning of the attack. "I heard the mortars coming in," she said. "I thought, "Oh, gosh. That's where we go running." "

She recalled that Acosta did a superb job guiding the detachment through its mobilization training at Dona Ana Base Camp, N.M.; a sub-post of Fort Bliss, Texas. The detachment had been formed up quickly from many units and most were strangers.

"Nobody knew each other," she said. But Acosta had them running early-morning PT, rumbling along in humvees and practicing combat skills in the desert environment. "He took our group and guided us in the right direction. I've never had that kind of leadership in my four years. He took his time even with the shy individuals."

Staff Sgt. Sarah Gotbeter, nuclear, biological and chemical NCO praised him as well. "He held everybody together," she said. "At Dona Ana, he made sure we were all on time, in correct uniform and he kept everybody in line. He was like a father figure."

At Anaconda, his tight leadership continued.

"He showed us a lot of tough love," said Spc. Efrain Arteaga, S-1 clerk. "He had a lot of rules, but it was because he cared for us and wanted to keep us out of trouble."

Command Sgt. Maj. Albert Montano of the detachment offered his thoughts as well.

"He wanted to do more than his job description required. He looked at force protection. He looked at safety. One Soldier never had a driver's license. He gave her training so she could drive a military vehicle. But he also wanted the Soldiers to enjoy some things. He wanted them to be aware of things such as flag football, available movies and entertainers coming through."

Acosta's wife, Connie, praised her husband and voiced her support.

She said she lays items out in the bathroom and kitchen so her husband can mentally grasp where they are.

"If he's in the shower, he knows where the soap is and where the shampoo is," she said. "At dinner, he knows where the food and drinks are at the table, potatoes at 12 o"clock, vegetables at 3 o"clock."

"He knows I'm here for him," she said. "He's adjusting very well. He's amazing. He's trying very well to be independent."

Meanwhile, Montano spoke of the future reunion between Acosta and his Soldiers, when they'll have a "Welcome Home" ceremony.

"We'll get the Soldiers off the bus and he'll be there," Montano said. "He'll feel their hands and hear the tone of their voices. I'm really looking forward to that day."

• Date Taken: 04.14.2006
• Date Posted: 04.14.2006 09:18
• Story ID: 6015