Thank You for Your Service, Adam Erickson

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – From a young age, Adam Erickson says he knew what he wanted to do with his life and that was to follow in his dad and grandfather’s footsteps.

“They were both in the Army,” Erickson told 7NEWS. “My dad was in Vietnam. My grandpa was in World War Two.”

Shortly after high school, Erickson enlisted in the Army.

He said boot camp sent him to Fort Benning, Georgia in 2004 before his unit deployed to Iraq during the second surge.

“The only thing I remember is that we got, we got hit with an I.E.D. and I lost two of my friends,” Erickson said. “The vehicle flipped over.”

That was two months into his deployment.

“My next deployment was in 14, I went to Afghanistan and I was only there for like two months,” shared Erickson.

He worked with NATO, overseeing thousands of troops.

But that deployment didn’t last long either before he was seriously injured a second time.

“I went outside in the morning, and a suicide bomber took out part of, took out, a little bit of a wall and knocked me out,” said Erickson.

Erickson told 7NEWS he woke up in the hospital and was later medically discharged.

“I just knew it,” Erickson explained. “If I couldn’t do my job anymore, I was done.”

Erickson said that was a tough pill to swallow but in hindsight, it may have been for the best.

“I’m grateful for not remembering half the stuff,” said Erickson.

Now, he’s a full-time student pursuing an Audio Engineering degree.

“I wanna make documentaries, historical stuff,” he explained.

Today, Erickson spends his time navigating a new life as a 100-percent disabled veteran which to the eye, might not be so apparent.

“I broke my back when I was in the military and I can walk but everything is day to day,” he shared. “One day, I’m acting normal and the other day I can’t even get out of bed.”

Erickson also shared that he battles with mental health struggles.

“One day I might not even get any sleep because of nightmares,” Erickson told 7 NEWS. “I’ll be up all night for days on end and it’s just stuff that’s not, not like, physically, you can see it but it’s more an internal.”

Erickson said he seeks out veteran resources to make sure he doesn’t become a part of the statistics.

“I just go wherever I have to go myself, out outside the VA to get, get the help I need,” Erickson said. “Like through the Wounded Warrior Project. They’ve been helping me.”

He also makes connections as a member of the American Legion, where he just recently took on a new role as the Historian.

“They might have not been where I was, but they have different experiences,” Erickson said. “So we can kind of talk and it’s just like a, more of a feeling like you’re back in the family again.”

Adam Erickson, Thank You for Your Service.

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