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Carbondale native Earl Granville doesn’t call himself a hero.
But everyone else does.
Granville is retired from the Army National Guard, but served as a Staff Sergeant (SSG) in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and also as part of a U.S. peace-keeping mission in Bosnia.
He was on his third deployment in Afghanistan in 2008 when a roadside bomb struck the vehicle he was riding in, severely injuring him. He lost his left leg and spent the next two-and-a-half years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Granville, who grew up on Dundaff St. and graduated in the Carbondale Area High School’s Class of 2001, is a true patriot. So it was more than appropriate that the Civilian Marksmanship Program honored him with its Patriot Award in a ceremony at City Hall last month.
Gen. Dennis Lord, who serves as Special Projects Officer with the Civilian Marksmanship Program, opened the ceremony by stating: “We’re all here in recognition of an American hero.”
He said the organization initiated the Patriot Awards three years ago as a way of honoring American veterans who served our country abroad and then continued serving their communities upon returning home.
“You’re a great American,” Gen. Lord told Granville. “We want to thank you for all you’ve done.”
During the ceremony, U.S. Rep. Tom Marino presented Granville with M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle, the weapon that “won World War Two” according to Gen. George Patton.
Congressman Marino said he was so impressed by Granville after meeting him that he brought him to Washington D.C. as his special guest for Pres. Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address in January. Marino was also the one who recommended Granville for the Patriot Award.
“Meeting this young man was certainly a privilege and honor for me,” Marino recounted. “He’s a true hero.”
“By the grace of God and the technology that’s available today, he’s able to get around a lot better than I do and he’s still doing some amazing things,” Marino noted.
Granville’s mother, Margaret Granville, who also attended the ceremony, described it as being “beautiful.” And she just beamed when talking about her son.
“He does so many good things,” she related, “from visiting soldiers to studying counseling so he can help even more.”
“He’s just awesome,” she offered, “a real inspiration.”
Granville was an inspiration as a soldier and he still is today as a private citizen. During his time at Walter Reed, the staff taught him how to snowboard with a prosthetic leg, to monospeed (sit-down skiing), to scuba dive. These days, he plays sled hockey and runs marathons as well as his other sporting activities, and he’s preparing to run in the New York Marathon this month.
“They gave me my independence back,” he said of the Walter Reed staff. “Now I want to do all I can to give back, because of everything they did for me.”
As for being a Patriot Award recipient, all that the humble, soft-spoken vet would say is, “I’m truly honored.”
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a national organization, founded in 1903 by Teddy Roosevelt, which is dedicated to training and educating U.S. citizens in responsible uses of firearms and airguns through gun safety training, marksmanship training and competitions.
Granville, who currently resides in Old Forge, has a daughter Alexandria, 9, a nephew Jonathan, 6, and two nieces Emily, 3, and Kayla, 1.
Carbondale native Earl Granville doesn’t call himself a hero.
But everyone else does.
Granville is retired from the Army National Guard, but served as a Staff Sergeant (SSG) in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and also as part of a U.S. peace-keeping mission in Bosnia.
He was on his third deployment in Afghanistan in 2008 when a roadside bomb struck the vehicle he was riding in, severely injuring him. He lost his left leg and spent the next two-and-a-half years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Granville, who grew up on Dundaff St. and graduated in the Carbondale Area High School’s Class of 2001, is a true patriot. So it was more than appropriate that the Civilian Marksmanship Program honored him with its Patriot Award in a ceremony at City Hall last month.
Gen. Dennis Lord, who serves as Special Projects Officer with the Civilian Marksmanship Program, opened the ceremony by stating: “We’re all here in recognition of an American hero.”
He said the organization initiated the Patriot Awards three years ago as a way of honoring American veterans who served our country abroad and then continued serving their communities upon returning home.
“You’re a great American,” Gen. Lord told Granville. “We want to thank you for all you’ve done.”
During the ceremony, U.S. Rep. Tom Marino presented Granville with M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle, the weapon that “won World War Two” according to Gen. George Patton.
Congressman Marino said he was so impressed by Granville after meeting him that he brought him to Washington D.C. as his special guest for Pres. Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address in January. Marino was also the one who recommended Granville for the Patriot Award.
“Meeting this young man was certainly a privilege and honor for me,” Marino recounted. “He’s a true hero.”
“By the grace of God and the technology that’s available today, he’s able to get around a lot better than I do and he’s still doing some amazing things,” Marino noted.
Granville’s mother, Margaret Granville, who also attended the ceremony, described it as being “beautiful.” And she just beamed when talking about her son.
“He does so many good things,” she related, “from visiting soldiers to studying counseling so he can help even more.”
“He’s just awesome,” she offered, “a real inspiration.”
Granville was an inspiration as a soldier and he still is today as a private citizen. During his time at Walter Reed, the staff taught him how to snowboard with a prosthetic leg, to monospeed (sit-down skiing), to scuba dive. These days, he plays sled hockey and runs marathons as well as his other sporting activities, and he’s preparing to run in the New York Marathon this month.
“They gave me my independence back,” he said of the Walter Reed staff. “Now I want to do all I can to give back, because of everything they did for me.”
As for being a Patriot Award recipient, all that the humble, soft-spoken vet would say is, “I’m truly honored.”
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a national organization, founded in 1903 by Teddy Roosevelt, which is dedicated to training and educating U.S. citizens in responsible uses of firearms and airguns through gun safety training, marksmanship training and competitions.
Granville, who currently resides in Old Forge, has a daughter Alexandria, 9, a nephew Jonathan, 6, and two nieces Emily, 3, and Kayla, 1.
