{"id":24933,"date":"2023-08-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=24933"},"modified":"2023-08-28T06:41:24","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T06:41:24","slug":"wounded-warrior-receives-one-of-the-highest-military-police-honors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=24933","title":{"rendered":"Wounded warrior receives one of the highest military police honors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Lt. Gen. Donna Martin, Army inspector general, awards Capt. Luis Avila the Order of the Marechausse, silver, during a ceremony at the Memorial Chapel on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, Aug. 23. In 2011, Avila was leading a search and rescue mission in Afghanistan when a 600-pound improvised explosive device detonated underneath his vehicle killing three of his Soldiers and leaving him severely wounded.
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\n Capt. Luis Avila receives the Military Police Regimental Association’s Order of the Marechausse, silver, during a ceremony at the Memorial Chapel on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, Aug. 23. The award is one of the highest honors given to a military police member, and it recognizes a degree of professionalism, high standards of integrity and morality, and esprit de corps.
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\n Lt. Gen. Donna Martin, Army inspector general, speaks during Capt. Luis Avila’s Order of the Marechausse award ceremony at the Memorial Chapel on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, Aug. 23. The award is one of the highest honors given to a military police member by the Military Police Regimental Association, and it recognizes a degree of professionalism, high standards of integrity and morality, and esprit de corps.
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\n Lt. Gen. Donna Martin, Army inspector general, awards Capt. Luis Avila the Order of the Marechausse, silver, during a ceremony at the Memorial Chapel on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, Aug. 23. In 2011, Avila was leading a search and rescue mission in Afghanistan when a 600-pound improvised explosive device detonated underneath his vehicle killing three of his Soldiers and leaving him severely wounded.
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JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. \u2014 With family, friends and members of the Army\u2019s Military Police Corps in attendance, Lt. Gen. Donna Martin, Army inspector general, awarded Capt. Luis R. Avila the Order of the Marechausse, silver, during a ceremony at the Memorial Chapel on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Aug. 23.<\/p>\n

The award is one of the highest honors given to a military police member by the Military Police Regimental Association, and it recognizes a degree of professionalism, high standards of integrity and morality and esprit de corps.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t think of a more deserving Soldier and member of our regiment to receive this honor,\u201d Martin said. \u201cToday, we are here because the impossible was made possible with faith, family, courage and prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

On his fifth combat deployment in December 2011, Avila was leading his company from the 720th Military Police Battalion on a search and rescue mission in Afghanistan when a 600-pound improvised explosive device detonated underneath his vehicle, splitting it in half, Martin explained.<\/p>\n

The explosion killed three of Avila\u2019s Soldiers and left him severely wounded. He lost his left leg, suffered two heart attacks and two strokes, and a lack of oxygen caused brain damage. The injuries he sustained left him almost completely paralyzed.<\/p>\n

Two weeks after the attack, he arrived back in the U.S. in a coma and on life support. His family would stay by his side morning and night, continuing to have faith that he would recover. They prayed and started playing some of his favorite music in the hospital room.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring those dark days, the family remained steady in their faith in God, and in Luis\u2019 will to survive,\u201d Martin explained. \u201cWhen their faith was tested, they turned to music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miraculously, Luis\u2019 facial muscles began to twitch, and he eventually woke up from the coma after 40 days. However, he couldn\u2019t eat, speak or see for more than three years.<\/p>\n

Luis and his family never gave up hope, and they continued to play music. He even used music therapy as part of his rehabilitation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what has been very important going through my husband’s road of recovery has been his courage and discipline to do things,\u201d his wife Claudia said. \u201cSince the day that he was capable of listening and understanding, he has been working on how to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has taken on the challenge of recovery with the help of the medical team at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and the support system around him.<\/p>\n

“It takes a strong family to endure hardship,” Martin said. “I can attest that the Avila family is the strongest family I’ve ever had the honor to know.”<\/p>\n

With that support and through years of rehabilitation, Avila has regained some movement in his hands, leg and part of his speech. He now sings at many events throughout the National Capital Region.<\/p>\n

He performed on television during the 28th National Memorial Day Concert at the U.S. Capitol in 2017 and during the Joint Chiefs of Staff change of command ceremony in 2019. He also sang twice during his\u00a0Order of the Marechausse award ceremony.<\/p>\n

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\n Wounded Warrior Luis Avila sings the national anthem at the opening ceremony of the Department of Defense Warrior Games, Tampa, Florida, June 22, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)
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\n Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, U.S. Army Capt. Luis Avila and wife Claudia, Secretary of the Army Dr. Mark T. Esper, and Sgt. Maj. of the U.S. Army Daniel A. Dailey sing the Army song during the 243rd Army Birthday Ball at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., June 16, 2018. (U.S. Army photo by Zane Ecklund)
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\n Capt. Luis Avila sings “God Bless America” during his Order of the Marechausse award ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, Aug. 23. He was awarded the Military Police Regimental Association’s Order of the Marechausse, silver, for his professionalism, high standards of integrity and morality, and esprit de corps.
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\u201cIt’s an extreme honor to receive this award, and I am extremely grateful for my [military police] brothers and sisters that have supported me along the way,\u201d he said. \u201cWe really appreciate all you do for us, your service and sacrifice to our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Military Police Regimental Association established the Order of the Marechausse in 2000 to recognize exceptional dedication, competence and contribution to the regiment. The award is presented in either gold, silver, bronze, or steel, based on the impact and years of service to the regiment.<\/p>\n

Today, there are nearly 500 recipients of the silver medal.<\/p>\n

\u201cCapt. Avila is truly a role model for all Soldiers, peers and subordinates alike,\u201d Martin said. \u201cI know I speak for all of us here today when I say that the Military Police Corps Regiment is blessed to have you, Luis, as a member of our family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Avila continues to recover from his injuries. He has completed four Army Ten-Miler races on a bike with his son, finishing in first place in his category one year, and has won multiple gold and silver medals at the DOD Warrior Games.<\/p>\n

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\n Army Capt. Luis Avila competes in seated club throwing during the 2023 DoD Warrior Games at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, Calif. June 5, 2023.
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\n U.S. Army Capt. Luis Avila and his son Miguel Avila approach the starting line at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando, Florida during the 2022 Department of Defense Warrior Games, Aug. 22, 2022. Hosted by the U.S. Army at the Walt Disney World Resort, this year\u2019s Warrior Games sees service members and veterans from across the DoD competing in a variety of adaptive sports alongside armed forces athletes from Canada and Ukraine.
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\n Miguel Avila assists his father Army Capt. Luis Avila with archery in qualifying rounds for the 2023 DoD Warrior Games at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, Calif. June 8, 2023.
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RELATED LINKS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Army News Service<\/a><\/p>\n

ARNEWS archives<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Lt. Gen. Donna Martin, Army inspector general, awards Capt. Luis Avila the Order of the Marechausse, silver, during a ceremony at the Memorial Chapel on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, Aug. 23. In 2011, Avila was leading a search and rescue mission in Afghanistan when a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24935,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24933"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24946,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24933\/revisions\/24946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}