True Grit
Remember the movie “True Grit” with John Wayne and a subsequent re-make with Jeff Bridges? It’s about Rooster Cogburn. a gritty, tough, one-eyed U.S. Marshal.
Let me tell you a story of some real True Grit.
Fellow artilleryman, retired Colonel Greg Gadson. A former West Point football player displayed the most extraordinary True Grit following the loss of his legs above the knees when the vehicle in which he was riding in Iraq hit a roadside bomb. Years of medical procedures in Walter Reed Army Hospital and the slow and painful recovery are the stuff of legend.
I recall a time when medical complications far less than what Greg suffered became the cause for involuntary medical retirement. But Greg fought his way back to recovery, insisted on staying in the Army and was given an extraordinary opportunity to lead the Wounded Warrior effort in the Pentagon and was then selected and successfully completed the challenging job as Garrison Commander for Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
When I was the CEO of the Command and General Staff College Foundation, I asked Greg to speak at a board of trustees meeting. When he walked through the door and to the center of the room on his titanium legs, my trustees were shocked and enthralled. Greg’s subsequent remarks about overcoming adversity reflected his courage and humility and inspired all in attendance.
In 2007, Tom Coughlin, New York Giants head coach, asked Gadson to meet with the then-struggling team. Gadson talked to the players about service, teamwork, duty, perseverance and adversity. His message resonated and the New York Giants defeated the 18-0 New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. In 2012, Greg made his silver screen debut as a lead actor in the blockbuster movie Battleship; where he portrayed a war-injured veteran that helped save the world from an alien invasion. In 2015, he completed season one of The Inspectors, a family television series on CBS.
Greg is managing partner of Patriot Strategies, LLC, a government services company. He’s also an accomplished motivational speaker, part-time actor, photographer, and artist. He remains active in cycling, skiing and scuba.
Retired colonel Greg Garson displays True Grit on a daily basis and continues to serve as an example that one should never give up.
MSG-Ret. Mark Ranger Jones, Col-Ret. Greg Gadson, GEN-Ret. David Petraeus