GI, bride celebrate 'miracle'
Wounded Wharton vet walks down aisle 14 months after injury
AUBURNDALE, Fla. --Army Spc. Jim Benoit stood up from
his wheelchair, walked down the aisle with only a cane in his right hand and
waited for his bride, Pamela Callahan.
At 4:52 p.m., with the sun beginning to set over the lake behind them, Benoit
kissed his wife for the first time. Family and friends, including several
members of his Army military police unit, watched the couple walk down the aisle
together, completing a milestone that seemed impossible 14 months ago. On Sept. 7, 2005, Benoit, a Wharton native, was severely wounded in a
roadside bomb attack in Iraq. His backside had been shattered, and doctors said
that if he even survived, he would never walk again. "This is like a dream -- it still doesn't feel real," the bride,
now Pamela Benoit, said afterward.
"It's very exciting. I kept thinking about the accident and how far he's
come." Smiling often and laughing with his friends, the usually stoic 24-year-old
Benoit said he was calm until the instant he had to walk down the aisle. He was
momentarily unnerved, but quickly put it behind him. "I had sort of a new feeling -- I was never this confident of anything
else -- not like I was about this. Everything just felt right," Benoit
said. Standing with his bride by a gazebo on the grounds of a 1933 estate, the two
listened as Kathleen Koehler, who was responsible for their first introduction,
sang "You Light Up My Life." Then, they exchanged their vows with the
Rev. Doug Latta, a Methodist pastor, presiding. Benoit went to put the wedding band on Pamela's hand and she, smiling, helped
to keep him steady. The two continued to hold hands from that moment, through
their first kiss and down the aisle. "I haven't been this happy in so long," Benoit said later. Benoit has spent the past year making remarkable strides at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center. When he first understood the extent of his injury he didn't
think he could have a normal life, Benoit said. The support of his family and
friends helped steel him through his recovery. And Pamela, he said, stuck by him even after his injury left him permanently
disabled. The two met in January 2005, through friends who were dating. Benoit was
scheduled to return to Iraq for a second tour of duty two days later. They
talked some and agreed to exchange letters. Pamela remembered her father, Thomas, a lieutenant in the Navy, saying that
letters from home kept him grounded while serving overseas. A romance began to blossom as the two exchanged letters for seven months. Not even the improvised explosive device, or IED, that detonated underneath
Benoit's 9,000-pound armored Humvee could destroy what was established. Two
weeks after the explosion, Pamela was on a plane from Florida, where she
attended college, to visit Benoit at Walter Reed. "This girl came into his life and watched every bit of pain he's been
through and she's still standing there," Benoit's older brother, David,
said after the ceremony. "That's not someone you let go of." David Benoit said Pamela was his brother's motivation. Benoit told his
brother that when he's doing physical therapy, thoughts of Pamela are what push
him. Benoit said during the wedding reception that it started with her letters,
when he was in Iraq. They were the best morale booster for him, he said. Pamela, 21, said she is aware of Benoit's medical needs, but they don't scare
her. He's gone through 79 surgeries in six months and his 80th surgery awaits
them in January. "I love him so much," she said. "It's just this feeling I have
inside when he's with me. With everything he was going through, I still wanted
to go to the hospital to see him -- that's how I knew." Pamela's twin brother, Daniel, said he wasn't surprised at his sister's
resilience. "She's a very strong person. She always has been," Daniel Callahan
said. "She had preparation along the way," he said jokingly, referring to
him and his older brother, Michael, teasing her when they were younger. Debra Callahan, Pamela's mother, said her daughter watched her grandfather
fight cancer for four years before he died, and Pamela was always willing to
help. "We want them to be happy and they know we're only a phone call away if
they need any help," Debra Callahan said, echoing her husband, Thomas, who
said the same hours earlier. "They are going to be fine," Thomas Callahan said. "Both of
them know all they have to do is pick up the phone if they need something." For Missy Benoit, Jim's mother, the day was one proud moment after another. Missy Benoit has been at her son's side since he was brought to Walter Reed. She fought the surgeons who wanted to amputate his legs, saying it was not
necessary. Saturday was vindication for her. "I was so proud just watching him stand there," Missy Benoit said.
"He was always determined he'd walk down the aisle, using only a cane. He
did it." Not only did he walk, but Benoit also danced with his wife to the music of
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight," by Elton John. He also danced with
his mother. The words "amazing,""incredible" and "miracle"
were used often by those attending the wedding. "Everyone uses the word miracle when talking about Jim," said his
childhood friend and best man, John Craven. "People in the beginning didn't think he would live, but he and his
mother always knew he would survive and he would walk." David Benoit agreed, as they watched the couple posing together for
photographs, sharing smiles. "It's amazing. It's not something I would have thought about this time
last year," said David Benoit, who recently was honorably discharged from
the Army after also having served in Iraq. "This time last year he couldn't
get out of a hospital bed." Seeing Benoit enjoy his wedding day was especially emotional for Army Spc.
Randall Oliver, 32, who served with Benoit both times in Iraq. During their
first tour together, Oliver was Benoit's gunner. The day Benoit was wounded, Oliver said he heard the explosion from the base.
The convoy, en route to train Iraqi police, was a scant two miles from camp when
they hit the IED. That second tour in Iraq was scary, Oliver said. During the first tour, only
two men in the unit -- the 64th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion -- were wounded.
The second time around, Pfc. Timothy Hines was the first in their unit to be
killed. He died a month after he was hit by an IED, the bombs the soldiers know
are out there, but can't see until it's too late. Then, Lt. Matthew Koutu was killed by a sniper. Then, Benoit was hit. After
Benoit, Sgt. Julia Atkins was killed. "It was random that day, who was chosen to go," Oliver said of the
day Benoit was hit. "It could've been anybody in his squad." Oliver said the unit is expecting to return to Iraq for a third tour. They've
heard there is a good possibility that they'll return in May. Meanwhile, Benoit's recovery has been good news for his fellow soldiers. "It's good to see him alive," Oliver said. "They said he would
never walk again. It's amazing. There are no words to really describe it. I love
the kid."