TRAGEDY STRIKES

On Easter Sunday 2009, Brendan Marrocco of Staten Island, N.Y., lost both his arms and legs while serving in the Iraq war. His unit was struck by an explosive projectile outside Baghdad. About a year later, he spoke to CBS News of his miraculous survival. "I had no idea I was hurt because I didn't feel anything," he recalled. "It [was] a copper dart, which is molten, so it's extremely hot. So as it went by, it completely cauterized my wounds, so I was barely bleeding from them. I think I was just more happy to be alive than upset. I'm still alive."

Staten Island Advance /Landov