Green Beret Injured In Afghanistan Receives Hero's Welcome In Beaver Falls
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BEAVER FALLS (KDKA) - Dozens of people filled the streets of Beaver Falls, and fire trucks from multiple departments lined every bridge between the airport and Chippewa to welcome home Staff Sgt. Luke Sciulli.
The Economy native spent the past few months recovering and rehabilitating at a Florida hospital, returning home to Beaver Falls on Memorial Day weekend.
"Not only is today not about me, but every day is not about me," said Sciulli. "In my opinion, it's about the guys who haven't had the chance to come home."
Sciulli did make it home, but he makes it clear that he doesn't want people to focus on that.
On Jan. 18, he was in Afghanistan on his fourth deployment as a Green Beret with the 10th Special Forces when they breached a booby trapped structure in southern Afghanistan.
The IEDs exploded and Sciulli found himself pinned under the rubble. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, and fractures to his neck, shoulder blade and pelvis. Fast-forward more than 130 days, and he's walking with a cane and looking forward to the future.
He told KDKA he does not regret volunteering for that final deployment.
"You can't live life that way," said Sciulli. "I'm not going to live life any more exciting or I'm not going to change anything I'm doing in my life now because this happened to me."
Sciulli wants the focus to remain on the men and woman who did not return home to a welcome back parade or a Memorial Day special breakfast.
"It's not about me, it's not about our active duty guys, it's about the guys that have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom," he said.
His firefighter buddies like Bill Cummings said they hope to see him back in full gear, and back with the department.
To that, Sciulli said, "It's not out of the realm of possibility, you look at life through a different lens."
Sciulli recommended everyone visit GreenBeretFoundation.org to look at the Memorial Wall.
On the site, users can search by last name or hometown to read the stories of those who lost their lives in the line of duty and never returned home.