Every time he got into the lead truck on a route clearance patrol to find IEDs in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Spc. Marco Solt would joke with his driver: “Today’s the day.” Nothing was funny about what happened May 1. Solt recalls the overpowering ringing in his ears as the first sign of something being wrong. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he recalls thinking while undoing his seatbelt after an improvised explosive device explosive overturned his vehicle. The 23-year-old Cooper graduate (Class of 2008) lost both of his legs below the knees after that IED attack. He will be the guest of honor at a benefit 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at Sammy’s Pizza, 9750 Schreiber Terrace, Brooklyn Park. Sammy’s will donate a portion of the day’s proceeds to the Solt family. Wiggle Your Toes, an organization serving the limb loss community, will match donations up to $5,000.
After growing up in Brooklyn Center and playing for Cooper High School’s football team, Marco enlisted in the U.S. Army in November 2009, at age 20. He was deployed to Afghanistan in February with the 42nd Clearance Company, 54th Engineering Battalion, 18th Engineering Brigade. Solt operated a gunner’s station on an RG 31, a seven-ton four-by-four mine-protected armored personnel vehicle. “I loved it – I loved being in Afghanistan,” he says. “Being on long missions sucked, but being there with my buddies was a great time.” His last mission was for route-clearance in Ghazni province, which lies on the road from Kabul to Kandahar. His vehicle drove over four jugs of homemade explosives, which were detonated by someone watching at the end of a wire 500 yards away. ‘The thing I remember most is my ears ringing really bad,” he said. “When I took my seatbelt, I fell over on my side. The right leg I could tell (was gone) but the left leg was really banged up.” After spending 10 minutes dragging himself from the overturned vehicle, he was on a helicopter in another seven. Solt was transported to a forward operating base and stabilized enough to be moved to Bagram Air Force Base and then to medical facilities in Landstuhl, Germany. The wound was cleaned, and Marco’s German-born wife, Gina, met him there. He underwent several surgeries on his legs before starting physical therapy and says he learned to walk on prosthetics in a day after being fitted with them in July.
Dan Solt, Marco’s father, remembers the day his son called him about the injury. The IT professional was working at home and kept getting calls from the “716” area code, which he ignored. Later that afternoon, Gina called to say that Marco was injured. Shortly after the call, the “716” number called again. Solt answered this time. “It was Marco, calling from Ghazni [Afghanistan],” he said. “The first thing he said was, ‘Dad, I was injured. I’ve lost both my legs.’ For 10 hours earlier getting blown up, he was pretty aware of his surroundings. He said, ‘They are taking pretty good care of me, and we will still be going hunting or fishing.’ It was a pretty emotional day that day.”
Wiggle Your Toes, a Bloomington-based organization supporting the limb-loss community, is also involved with the Solt fundraiser event. “Wiggle assists individuals who have suffered the loss of a limb or limbs in their recovery and rehabilitation efforts,” said organization founder Aaron Holm. “Every need is different – we learn about the individual and identify avenues for them to simplify their route to a new normal.” It’s something he knows well. Holm’s life changed Jan. 2, 2007, on Highway 394 in Wayzata. Playing the role of Good Samaritan, stopping to help someone change a tire cost the Shakopee resident both legs above the knee. “My friends, family and I struggled to find the information, products and people that could assist in my recovery,” he said. “We had a very difficult time putting together a plan for my recovery. Was I going to walk again? What modifications did my house need? What prosthetics are available, tried and tested that would allow me the active lifestyle I am accustomed to? We quickly realized there wasn’t a resource. So after forging a path to a successful recovery, we decided to give back to others by forming Wiggle Your Toes.” Holm’s recovery plan was in place within hours after the accident, addressing questions like modifying his home to accommodate a wheelchair, leasing a wheelchair accessible van, and identifying the best prosthetic for his lifestyle. He began physical therapy a week after the accident, returned home after two weeks, walked with prosthesis in five months, played golf in six, returned to work in seven, and played a four-day golf tournament nine months after the accident.
Marco’s road to recovery will continue at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He estimates he could be there for up to another year, and hopes to work in HVAC when he is fit to do so. For now, he is on a month-long pass from the hospital, and is planning on joining his father for the deer-hunting opener. “He’s got such a great attitude. I’m so proud of his determination, the spirit he’s got,” Dan Solt said. “One of the first things he said at the hospital was, ‘I don’t want to be thought of as different as anyone else. I don’t have legs below the knee, but I’m still me.’”
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