Quotes from Kyle Carpenter

Freedom is a powerful and beautiful thing.

I'm totally fine knowing that I gave part of myself to a bigger purpose and a bigger cause, to not only serve my country but try to make a better way of life for other people and much less fortunate people.

Going from toting a machine gun in Afghanistan... to using a bed pan, and I can't even put my own socks on - that was hard to kind of suck it up.

The Bush family truly cares about our military.

I'm very pleased with how far I've come, and I see my injuries and my scars and all my buddies and everybody that was at Walter Reid with me, you know I see it almost as a form of character.

Scars can be a good story. I survived and I am proud of them. I didn't want it, obviously. The girls definitely like them.

There were a lot of hard times, and having to have a team of people help me out of the bed, having to use a bedpan is a really tough thing to swallow. But looking back, I'm proud of my scars and what myself and my Marines went through in Marjah.

We have this one body we've been given, so whether you run, kayak, swim, bike, on some basic level, we need to take care of our bodies.

I was labeled 'P-E-A,' which is patient expired on arrival. I guess that's the politically correct way of saying you didn't make it.

I graduated from college December of 2017 and looking ahead and thinking about potentially starting a book, I just kept getting hung up before even starting because I didn't want to write a book that only people that have served in the military or that have been to combat could understand.

The Taliban are terrible shots. At the end of some long patrols, we'd be walking through the fields and get shot at - and we'd just keep walking.

You have to experience and take defeat in any and all aspects of life so you can be better and stronger.

It's human nature for everyone to say 'what if,' but I try to snap out of it as quickly as I can because I'm never going to be able to go back and change what has happened.

The blast blew most of my teeth out, I have screws and plates in my face, I lost the eye.

As Marines, it's drilled into us... to take care of fellow Marines.

I am proud of my scars because they show I dedicated myself to a bigger purpose.

I always tell people to appreciate the little things in life... Things like driving on a nice day with the windows down, and the fact that you can get a good education or you have a good job.

I would take any opportunity to tell service members, 'Thank you.'

Be thankful for what you have. Appreciate the small and simple things.

My college experience was like everyone else's. I learned a lot. I gained a new perspective on the world and on people that I'm so thankful and appreciative for.

I ran a marathon, completed a mud run and jumped from a plane.

Early on in my recovery, the entire United States seemed to be supportive. Letters flooded in from all over the place, so from the second I woke up in the hospital, I've always had a great team and great people.

There was always the next therapy appointment, next surgery, next college exam, but with time and deep thought, those evolved into life lessons, which then evolved into perspective.

The hardest part of my entire three-year recovery has been knowing that my parents, my brothers, were suffering through this burden of injury and recovery, something I volunteered for that they didn't ask for.