USA Cares National Spokesman
Bryan Anderson
Veteran, Actor, Stuntman, and Advocate
Bryan enlisted in the U.S. Army in April 2001 and deployed to the Middle East on September 11, 2001. He attained the rank of Sergeant in the Military Police (MP) and conducted police training courses in Baghdad, Iraq, where he served two tours.
In October 2005, Bryan was injured by an IED explosion in Baghdad, which resulted in the loss of both legs and left hand. As a result of his injuries, he was awarded a Purple Heart. Bryan received rehabilitation for a period of 13 months at Walter Reed Army Hospital and is one of the few triple amputees to have survived his injuries in Iraq. After a painful and lengthy recovery, Bryan refused to let his physical limitations slow him down.
Bryan is an accomplished author, actor, motivational speaker and athlete, and is committed to inspiring others to never give up, no matter the challenge. Bryan spends much of his time traveling the country, sharing his journey of overcoming mental and physical challenges with thousands of individuals, both military and non-military.
Bryan is an energetic and enthusiastic individual who enjoys challenging his limits. When he isn’t traveling for speaking engagements, he spends his time participating in extreme sports and relaxing with his service dog, Mya.
“Bad things happen to us. It’s a fact of life. No one’s immune… For me it was getting blown up; for somebody else, it might be losing a job, or a loved one dying, or a house burning down. There are things we can’t avoid, at least not forever. We can’t always control what happens to us. The only thing we can control is how we react to it. We can choose to lie down and die, or we can choose to go on living.’’
– BRYAN ANDERSON