State of the Union: Meet the Guest Who Got the Most Applause
Published at
Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Army Ranger Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg had the longest standing ovation at the State of the Union address Tuesday night.
Remsburg, who has met President Obama on three separate occasions, was almost killed by a roadside bomb explosion in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2009. The explosion left Remsburg in a three-month coma and rendered him partially paralyzed and brain-damaged, according to the White House.
President Obama: “On his 10th deployment, Cory was nearly killed by a massive roadside bomb in Afghanistan.” #SOTU pic.twitter.com/CU29om1WRb
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 29, 2014
The 30-year-old veteran, who joined the Army on his 18th birthday, underwent six hours of occupational, physical and speech therapy per day, and has worked up the ability to walk and speak again. Remsburg is blind in his left eye and struggles to use the left side of his body.
Obama honored Remsburg’s tenacity by stating that he “never gives up, and he does not quit” while serving as a reminder that “America never comes easy.”
A native of Arizona, Remsburg has been awarded a number of honors, including the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, and is the Vice President of Human Resources for Telgian Corporation and a retired US Air Force Reserve firefighter, according to the Department of Defense.
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio