William McLeroy

William "Bud" McLeroy (born 1960) was the first amputee to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom.[3] He is also the first service member, and firefighter, to serve while only having one leg.[4][5]

William McLeroy
McLeroy as a sergeant first class in 2004
Nickname(s)Bud[1]
Born1960 (age 60–61)[2]
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Marine Corps (1980–86)
United States Army Reserve (1987–14)
Years of service1980–2014
RankCommand Sergeant Major[1]
Unit315th Psychological Operations Company[3]
Battles/warsOperation Iraqi Freedom[3]
AwardsPurple Heart[1]
Spouse(s)Tina[3]
Other workFirefighter, politician

Early life

Growing up in south San Diego, McLeroy attended Montgomery High School; in his senior year he changed to night classes, in order to save up money to fund his upcoming Mormon mission.[2] After high school, McLeroy became a missionary for two years, then enlisted in the Marine Corps.[2]

Military career

After six years in the Marine Corps, McLeroy joined the Army Reserves, before joining active duty.[2] While on active duty, McLeroy was stationed in West Berlin, and witnessed the Berlin Wall coming down.[2] In 1990, McLeroy returned to the Army Reserves. After losing his leg in 1993, McLeroy became the first one legged service member.[4] In 2012, McLeroy served as a commandant of the 80th Training Command.[4] In 2014, McLeroy was medically retired after nearly 33 years of service.[1]

Civilian career

McLeroy began working as a firefighter in San Diego in 1990;[4] joining the Federal Fire Department of San Diego.[2] In 1993, while in a preliminary race in Plaster City for Baja 1000, McLeroy was hit by a passing race car, severing his leg below the knee.[2][6] McLeroy received his first prosthetic limb in January 1994.[2] After losing his leg McLeroy became the nation's first professional one-legged firefighter.[2][4]

Political ambitions

In 2009, McLeroy announced that he would run as a candidate for the 51st Congressional district, against incumbent Bob Filner;[7] he did not appear on the primary ballot for the seat in June 2010, instead winning a seat on the San Diego County Republican Party Central Committee.[8] In 2010, McLeroy ran for board member of Southwestern Community College District, ranking third out of four candidates for the fifth board member seat.[9] In 2012, McLeroy ran again for the third board member seat of Southwestern Community College District and lost, receiving 41.82% of the vote.[10] In 2014, McLeroy ran for a seat on the Sweetwater Union High School District school board,[11] placing second out of four candidates.[12] In 2016, he ran for a seat on the board of the Southwestern Community College District, and came in second in a field of five candidates.[13]

References
  1. R., Stickney (18 August 2014). "Ceremony Honors 30+ Years of Service". KNSD. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  2. Phelgyal, Jangchup (7 October 1999). "The One-Legged Professional Firefighter". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  3. "Master Sgt. William "Bud" McLeroy". Operation Tribute to Freedom. United States Army. 10 November 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  4. Fulcher, Albert (19 October 2012). "Election 2012 – William "Bud" McLeroy interview". The Sun. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  5. Army Reserve Public Affairs (2 February 2009). "Amputee Becomes First One Legged Firefighter In The US". Fire Fighting News. e-Firefighter, LLC. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  6. My Army Reserve (20 April 2009). "Sgt. William "Bud" McLeroy". Flickr. United States Army Reserve. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  7. Taylor, Susan (28 October 2009). "Amputee Running For Congress". KNSD. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  8. "County of San Diego Gubernatorial Primary Election" (PDF). San Diego Registrar of Voters. County of San Diego. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  9. Edward L. Lascher, Jr., Ph.D.; Ernst Cowles, Ph.D.; Valory Logsdon; Ted Ryan; Clint Swift; Institute for Social Research Center For California Studies, California State University, Sacramento (2010). "California County, City and School District Election Outcomes" (PDF). Secretary of State. State of California. p. 87. Retrieved 20 October 2014.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    "Board Member; Southwestern Community College District; Seat 5 Voter Information". Smartvoter.org. League of Women Voters of California Education Fund. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  10. "County of San Diego, Presidential General Election" (PDF). San Diego County Registrar of Voters. County of San Diego. 5 December 2012. p. 2. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
    "Board Member; Southwestern Community College District; Seat 3 Voter Information". Smartvoter.org. League of Women Voters of California Education Fund. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  11. Muñoz, Daniel (3 October 2014). "Sweetwater board races provide an opportunity for a fresh start!". La Prensa San Diego. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  12. Wendy Fry; R. Stickney (5 November 2014). "2 Trustees in Sweetwater Scandal Not Re-Elected". KNSD. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  13. Garcia, Cristofer (10 November 2016). "Election 2016: Roberto Alcantar elected to governing board". Southwestern College Sun. Chula Vista, California. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
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