The world is full of remarkable people who, despite facing very difficult situations, not only come to grips with their hardship but also try to make the best of their lives.
Staff sergeant Mark Zambon was a U.S. Marines bomb technician deployed in Afghanistan. In January 2011, he lost both legs when a homemade bomb that he was trying to diffuse exploded.
A few months earlier, on October 2010, another Marine, Corporal Tim Read, was on his third tour when he stepped on 10 pounds on explosives and, as a result, lost his left leg.
This didn’t stop them from getting on with everyday living. In fact, they are doing much more than that: Read and Zambon are driving a Land Rover Defender-based Wildcat in what is the toughest endurance race in the world, the Dakar Rally that stretches over 5,000 miles and two weeks in the Andes.
Entering this particular event takes a lot of courage, skill and preparation and merely getting to the finish line ranks among the toughest challenges for any contestant.
Admirably, the two Marines’ Race2Recovery team is the first-ever disabled crew to enter the Dakar Rally – and we sincerely wish them the best of luck.
You can read their story here and watch the two men recount their wartime experience, the way they coped with it and their preparations for the grueling rally in the video right after the break.
By Andrew Tsaousis
VIDEO