Van of Valor

The Second Birthday

Terry Connor was asked to leave college after posting a 0.004 GPS. Five days before his draft date, he walked into an Army recruiter’s office and walked out with a guaranteed spot in flight school.

What followed was a year of reconnaissance missions, the loss of his friends, and a wound that stopped his heart.

In this interview:
A 0.004 GPA in college and the highest entrance exam scores in his class

Choosing the 1/9 Cav because he wanted to be “all the way in”

The prank where five soldiers mooned a fellow officer’s movie camera

Heating C-Rations with C-4

October 6, 1967 – taking a round through the bubble that traveled up his leg, ricocheting inside his hip, and lodging in his spine

Big Lesson:
“Life doesn’t move in a straight line. You can fail at everything, get drafted, get shot, flatline on a table – and still wake up with a second birthday. The only think that matters is what you do with the tine you didn’t expect to have.”