After being a soldier for only two days, Hanger was shot in the leg by a Unioncannonball and the leg was amputated, making him the first amputee of the war. Following the war, Hanger built his own wooden prosthetic leg and established the Hanger, Inc.[6]
During the Siege of Yorktown, on April 24, 1862, Bartlett (who was a captain at the time) was shot in the left knee by Confederate pickets. The wound required the amputation of his leg and Bartlett continued to fight even after his amputation.[8][9]
The 20-year-old blacksmith lost both his arms during the Siege of Petersburg when his arms were struck with a Confederate cannonball and amputated by Mr. A. S. Coe.[11][12]
At the Battle of Peachtree Creek on July 20, 1864, McGroarty left arm was shattered at the elbow by a minié ball in the beginning of the engagement, yet he remained with his men through the fight.[13]
During the Battle of Galicia, Wittgenstein was shot in the elbow by Russian forces and his arm was amputated. Following the war, he became a famous left-handed pianist.[14][15]
During the Battle of Belleau Wood, Stallings severely wounded his leg after he charged a German machine gun nest. He refused to have the leg amputated and it was later amputated in 1922 after he damaged it falling on ice.[17][18]
On 5 April 1942 his Yakovlev Yak-1 was shot down near Staraya Russa, after which he was almost captured. Despite being badly injured, he managed to return to the Soviet-controlled territory, braving blizzards and German patrol units. During his 18-day-long journey his injuries deteriorated so badly that both of his legs had to be amputated above the knee. Before the surgery he was lying on a stretcher with a sheet over his face and considered to be a hopeless case due to the extent of his injuries in addition to suffering from gangrene and blood poisoning. One doctor offered to operate on him and thereby saved him, but told him he would not lose his legs.[19][20]
On April 8, with a month left in his tour, Cleland was ordered to set up a radio relay station on a nearby hill. A helicopter flew him and two soldiers to the treeless top of Hill 471, east of Khe Sanh. When the helicopter landed, Cleland jumped out, followed by the two soldiers. They ducked because of the rotor wash and turned to watch the liftoff. Cleland reached down to pick up a grenade he believed had dropped off his flak jacket. It then exploded, the blast slamming him backward, shredding both his legs and his right arm.
On the night of May 7, 2007, while returning from a memorial service for two soldiers from his brigade, he lost both his legs and severely injured his right arm to a roadside bomb in Baghdad. He became one of the first military personnel to use a next-generation powered prosthetic knee with technology to make it possible for amputees to walk with confidence and with a more natural gait.[24]
The Scottish-American politician and Navy SEAL officer lost his eye to an IED in Helmand, Afghanistan. The explosion destroyed his right eye and damaged his left eye which was repaired with surgery. Crenshaw was awarded with the Purple Heart for his service.
British Empire
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Confederate States of America
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Austria-Hungary
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