OEF war veteran overcomes odds, shares story with Aviano Airmen

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Lindsey Maurice
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  It has been almost two and a half years since Tech Sgt. Israel "DT" Del Toro woke up in a hospital bed at Brooke Army Medical Center from a medication-induced three-month coma. 

Having sustained severe burns to about 80 percent of his body from an improvised explosive device detonation, it was there that he was told that he had a 20 percent chance at life and would most likely never walk or breathe on his own again. 

This prognosis; however, was not one that Sergeant Del Toro, a former joint terminal attack controller, was willing to except. It was with will and determination that he overcame the odds and is able to stand before Airmen today sharing his story. 

"I'm not going to say it was easy getting to where I am," Sergeant Del Toro told the Aviano First Sergeants' Council during a guest appearance at their Thursday meeting. "There were therapy sessions that brought me to tears, the pain was so intense, but I knew I had to get through it. I couldn't quit on my family, my friends and the Air Force. I didn't want them to see me fail and I refused to give my attackers the satisfaction of giving up." 

The sergeant spoke to the base First Sergeants' Council and First Term Airmen's Center while on leave visiting members of his former unit, the 8th Air Support Operations Squadron, stationed out of Vicenza, Italy. 

"My wife and I really enjoyed being stationed here," said the Chicago native. "It's nice to be back visiting with friends and fellow Airmen." 

Staff Sgt. Travis Stoute of the 8th ASOS, is one of three Airmen in the unit who was stationed with Sergeant Del Toro in Vicenza and who deployed with him to Afghanistan in 2005 when he was injured. 

"I've known DT for four years, and I can tell you there's nobody like him," said Sergeant Stoute. "He's a good guy, a brother, a mentor and a family man. He has so much fight and determination in him. Airmen can really benefit from hearing what he has to say, especially the younger troops."

During Sergeant Del Toro's visits with Aviano Airmen, he spoke about his career as a JTAC, going through survival school, competing in the "Lightning Challenge" as an airman 1st class where he placed ninth out of 41 teams, and becoming a jump master. 

"I was in great shape before my injury, which was a huge factor in my recovery," the sergeant said. "I don't think I would have survived had I not been in such good shape. It's great to see the Air Force has become so proactive in fitness and is finally enforcing physical training. Physical fitness is paramount in the military." 

The sergeant also shared his combat experiences, which included deployments to Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, recapturing a detailed account of his attack in 2005. 

The sergeant said he was on a combat patrol mission with the 503rd Infantry, supporting Combined Task Force Bayonet, when the vehicle he was riding in detonated a buried pressure plate mine. The explosion immediately engulfed his body in flames and began suffocated him with smoke. 

"They say how your whole life flashes before your eyes and all I could think about was my son and wife and all the things I wouldn't get to do with them," he said. "I remember climbing out of the humvee and heading for the nearby creek. I collapsed in the road as the flames overcame me. I remember yelling out 'I'm gonna die here.'" 

It was then, that the lieutenant riding with him helped the sergeant to the creek, where they jumped in and distinguished the flames. The sergeant recalled lying in the road afterward, uttering the code words to call in airlift medics. His body began to shut down from shock. 

"My guys never gave up on me," he recalled. "They tried everything they could to keep me awake while I lay there. They told me to fight for my son. I know what it's like to lose your father at a young age and I knew I couldn't do that to my son. I fought for my boy." 

Sergeant Del Toro's next memory after his medical evacuation was waking up at BAMC three months later. Since that time, he has undergone almost 100 surgical procedures and is continuing to undergo therapy treatments. 

"It hasn't been easy, but the amount of support we've received throughout has been unreal," he said. "The Air Force has come through for my family in so many ways." 

The sergeant talked about his wife's dislike of the military before he was injured and how since that time her views have completely changed based on that support. 

From expediting a temporary visa for his wife to be by his side at BAMC after hers had expired, to helping with finances (as she had no access to his assets while he was in a coma), to constant morale visits, the Air Force came through time and time again, he said. 

The sergeant spoke highly of his family liaison officers from Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, who worked around the clock to make sure he and his family's needs were met as he underwent treatments at BAMC. 

"There were three times they thought I wouldn't make it at the hospital and each time one of them contacted my wife and stayed with her through the ordeal, even in the early morning hours," he said. "I could never repay them for what they did." 

The sergeant also recalled the hundreds of people who visited him at BAMC from his Tactical Air Controller Party, or TACP, buddies to people he had crossed paths with throughout his career. The support came by the hundreds at his Purple Heart/Army Bronze Star ceremony in February 2006 as well, where former Chief of Staff of the Air Force T. Michael Moseley presided over the ceremony. 

Sergeant Del Toro said the former CSAF later approached him about joining a panel of speakers he was organizing who travel around the Air Force talking with Airmen about their experiences. While hesitant at first, the sergeant accepted and has been meeting with Airmen ever since. 

The sergeant's stories are outlined with messages of determination, perseverance, integrity and being a good wingman. 

"It was great hearing what Sergeant Del Toro had to say," said Airman 1st Class Paul Herrera of the 31st Security Forces Squadron after the sergeant addressed the Aviano FTAC class. "He had a lot of good stories and messages. His desire to want to stay in the Air Force is incredible." 

Sergeant Del Toro admitted that if he had a choice, he would love to go back to his original career field instructing TACPs or something similar, but if public speaking is to be his new calling, then so be it. 

"I'm just happy to be in the Air Force," he said. "I've served 11 years so far and would like to continue through to retirement. But if the Air Force decides otherwise, I think I'll go with a career in public speaking." 

The sergeant closed his Aviano speaking engagements as he closes all of his visits, with a Lou Gehrig quote he holds close to his heart and has made his own. 

"A lot of you out there might think I've gotten a bad break, but I am the luckiest man on Earth to have worked with some of the greatest men out there. I've got a wife that is the pillar of my strength, a son that is all of my motivation- and yeah I've gotten a bad break, but I've still got a lot to live for."