Brandon Deaton

"I grew up in Maine and my dad was in the Navy. I graduated high school in 2005 and joined the Army Infantry army at age 17. I did basic, AIT, and Airborne School at Ft. Benning, GA, and got orders to Ft. Drum, NY with the 10th Mountain Division. I was assigned to Bravo Co. 2-14 Infantry. We deployed to Iraq in 2006 and conducted combat operations in Sadr al Yusifiyah, Iraq also named the Triangle of Death. On 24MAR2007 I was wounded by an IED while driving an unarmored Humvee. I was medevac’d back stateside and spent a total 20 months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. On 01AUG2007 I made the decision to amputate my left leg below the knee. After I was done with my rehab I returned back to active duty with my infantry platoon. During my time in the hospital, I became addicted to my pain meds and have fought with addiction ever since. I was medically retired in 2010 and returned back to Maine. After that, I moved around a lot and went to my first drug rehab in 2011. I’ve been to a total of 6 rehabs with the last one being in September of 2021 in Texas. I moved into a sober living house in Houston the day I got out. I am currently living at another sober living house in Fleming Island, FL, I moved here in March of 2022 and am proud to say that I am over 9 months sober and this is the longest I’ve been sober in 15 years. "


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