Photo By Vincent Abril | Carlos Evans, a former Marine Sgt. and native of Puerto Rico shakes the hand of...... read more read more
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CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea – Carlos Evans, former sergeant of the U.S. Marine Corps and native of Puerto Rico, traveled nearly 7,000 miles to visit the Camp Humphreys community Sept. 27, 2014 here.
He brought with him a message that each Soldier or veteran could understand clearly.
“Life is a challenge and life is full of obstacles,” said Evans. “There always someone in your life that’s going to push you that extra mile, that extra limit. There’s always some in your life that’s going to believe in you, in your dreams, your goals and your choices. So what looks like an obstacle in your life today, yesterday or this morning when you woke up, is really not an obstacle. It is a step stone to your goals for whatever you want to do in you life.”
Evans was clearly qualified to provide an example of what a person, who’s been through hell and back, can do to move beyond the pain and the trauma war can inflict on Americas heroes.
Sitting on a stage, Evans spoke to a room full of Soldiers who chose to come listen to what Evans had to say on their day off. He has no legs and only one hand. He lost them to war. Evans joined the Marines in 2004 and by 2005 was deployed to Iraq three times before serving his last deployment in Afghanistan in 2010.
Evans spoke of his last combat tour in Afghanistan and how it changed his life forever.
“I stepped on an improvised explosive device,” said Evans. “When I stepped on the IED, I immediately lost both my legs and left hand. From that experience I learned who my true friends were and who the important people in my life were.”
Evans, a spiritual man, was invited by members of a United States Army Garrison Humphreys religious congregation called Iglesia Cristiana Encuentro de Paz. He told Soldiers what makes him happy, despite what some may see as obvious setbacks produced by the hardships of war.
“I want to talk about three different things in my life that give me a smile whenever I wake up,” said Evans. “One is friends, the other one is family and the last one is faith. Those are the foundations in my life that make me the person that I am today and the person I want to be tomorrow.”
Soldiers in the auditorium listened in shock as Evans began to explain the horrific account of the day he stepped on that IED while leading a foot patrol of over 20 Marines. In this story was a seemingly profound message of hope, courage and resiliency.
On that day in Afghanistan his medic on the foot patrol with him stuck his thumb in Evan’s artery to stop the bleeding after the explosion. Evans explained that when the medic did that he began to yell and cry in pain. He said that pain was saving his life and was stopping him from bleeding to death. This account was followed with a message to the Soldiers in the room about what he learned through his experience.
“Sometimes in life, there’s going to be someone that’s going to be able and that’s going to want to stop the bleeding in your life so you can achieve any goal in life,” said Evans. “It could be your battle buddy, your room mate, a family member or a friend back home pushing you forward never allowing us to quit.”
The auditorium filled with the sound of clapping as the audience cheered for a wounded warrior who came to spread his powerful message of hope he has gained against all odds.
He continued to engage Soldiers and the community members by participating in a Wounded Warrior Unity Ride and visiting several local faith based organizations at Osan and Seoul here.
Command Sgt. Major Estevan Sotorosado, the senior enlisted adviser of the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade and native of Aguada, Puerto Rico, is a member of Iglesia Cristiana Encuentro de Paz and explained why it was so important to invite Evans to Korea.
“What we want our Soldiers to [know] that it does not matter how bad you think you have it, you can move on and take your issues and concerns to another positive level to endure and to be resilient and be able to take on any challenge in life,” said Sotorosado.
One Soldier received that message and was very grateful for Evans service and sacrifice to the nation and for coming to Korea to share his message.
“I was truly touched by Carlos’ story,” said Warrant Officer 1 Francis W. Bagley, a native of Newport News, Virginia, and aviation maintenance technician with Troop D, 6th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd CAB. “We all have our dog days and his message gave me even more confidence to move forward despite my own personal setbacks. He is simply an amazing person with a heart of gold. I hope he continues to tell his story so others can learn how to be resilient and depend on one another. That’s what life is all about. Keep on moving on.”
| Date Taken: | 09.27.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.16.2014 00:26 |
| Story ID: | 145161 |
| Location: | CAMP HUMPHREYS, KR |
| Hometown: | AGUADA, PR |
| Hometown: | NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 290 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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