[NielsPis]

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

[kboukes]

ah the poor bastard. I hope he can still have a good laugh from time to time!

[Sharon]

I saw this poor man on TV, what a tragic tale They must have stuggled to cope hence the divorce.

[kboukes]

was this guy on oprah too?>

[hardy-harr]

very sad, his wife is a f****ng cow

[aleatharhea]

Originally Posted by Christian-M ↗

I wouldn't call her a bitch, maybe things were different, but if she divorced him because the way he looks now, she is heartless, this man fought for our freedoms and she just takes off...

Ok, I understand your opinion, but I think you might feel vastly differently if you were the one looking at eating up all of your heat and youth attempting to make love to someone who can no longer arouse you.

[HmnTrch]

He survives serving in the Iraq war.
He survives severe, disfiguring burns.
Then he dies when he slips and falls on ice?
Damn that sucks.

http://centralillinoisproud.co/rsh-f...?nxd_id=296292

[GoreisGreat]

http://www.pjstar.com/news/x45933023...n-Tyler-Ziegel

Yep, looks like he fell on ice and died recently.

Can't say I blame the bomber who disfigured him though, the US military has killed tons of innocent people in iraq and afghanistan but people in the US just assume "they're doing it for our freedom." At least some of the people held and tortured at Guantanamo Bay/Bagram Air Force Base/Abu Gharib were completely innocent.

There have been 31 documented US troops killed by US troops in Iraq/Afghanistan (and probably a lot more which went unreported), many whose families were initially lied to about what happened.

[johnleeknoefler]

The man died after slipping on some ice.

Ziegel was on a tour in Iraq when a suicide bomber blew up near his truck. He lost his left hand and fingers on his right, fractured his skull and suffered severe burns in a blast on Christmas Eve 2004.

After numerous surgeries, he returned to Metamora in 2006 as a hero. He died after falling on ice early Wednesday morning.

Those who knew Ziegel remembered him for his resilience and upbeat attitude.

Family friends Phil and Renee Schertz of Metamora recalled how their young children were frightened when they saw him after the explosion.

"Ty told them not to be afraid and told them what happened," she said. "By the time he got done talking to them, they weren't scared anymore."

Ziegel had many friends before his deployment. After his injuries, it was his unbreakable spirit people remember more than his scars.

"We knew Ty since he was a little one. He grew up to be a great man and served his country, faced many struggles," said Phil Schertz. "Nobody felt sorry. It wasn't pity. It was love."

While Ziegel became known as a war hero, his family earned the respect of the community. Many attendees came to support parents Rebecca and Jeffrey and brother Zachary, who is also a Marine.

"We didn't get to know Ty real well. We knew his family," Mike Staley of Peoria said. "Great family, and I'm proud to know them."

Nearly 2,000 flags lined the streets of Metamora for miles in memory of the former Marine.

"It's so important that we make it as impressive as possible. As long as they remember the flags, they'll remember Tyler," said Larry Eckhardt, a Little York man who provides flags for military funerals. "It's an honor to be allowed to do it."

Ziegel's funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Mason Funeral Home, 219 E. Partridge St. in Metamora.

[johnleeknoefler]

Wife Leaves Disfigured US Hero Ziegel
Ty Ziegel lost his face, hand, fingers and a part of skull in Iraq, but Renee loved him and decided to marry him.



Tyler Ziegel and Renee Kline were heroes for any romantic soul in the USA when they got married, despite Tyler`s severe injuries, showing that love conquers all. Until Renee left him.

Love turns to torment

After a year and three months, the fairy tale ended, Tyler`s appearance and mental state became too large an obstacle in their relationship.

Their story is just like the ones we see in the movies. Young man and a girl from a little American town fall in love, get engaged right out of high school and decide to move in together in the same little town, which they never left. But then, the young man goes off to war.

Unlike the movies, the young man returns disfigured. A suicide bomber irrevocably took away his youth in that fateful 2004. Ty lost his left hand, three right-hand fingers, a part of his skull, he cannot see on one of his eyes and his face is entirely disfigured.

Regardless of the tragedy, his girlfriend waited for him in their hometown Metamora, Illinois. She stuck by him as he underwent more than 50 operations and could hardly wait for him to recover enough to get married.

The great day happened on October 6, 2006. The public was stunned. The governor of Illinois proclaimed the day a state holiday and the media covered the event, writing: “Love conquers all!”.

Despite tragedy, Ty bravely moved on

It does in fairy tales, but not quite in the lives of young people. Renee realised she has many years ahead of her and Tyler will never be the same again. Apart from his appearance, his behaviour was a problem also. Ty suffers from a severe type of PTSD, often having mood-swings. He was not fully capable of having sex either, because too much excitement would knock him unconscious.

Renee could not fight it, she realised they could go through everything as friends. Therefore, she just left in January this year. Tyler assumes she is with another man, but he does not mind because she is still with him. He believes their relationship is now much deeper and closer, without the pressure of the public, marriage and everything around them.

The young man does not regret what happened to him because he is a burning patriot and Republican. He knew he wanted to go to war right after September 11, 2001. His three years younger brother Zach followed in his footsteps. He does not regret his love because he is aware she has had a tough time and he will eternally be grateful to her because she stuck by him during the hardest moments of his life.

Ty has come to terms with what has happened, he does not look back, but forward. He even had a tattoo done, reading: “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift!”. This is his motto. He gets out as much as he can, he hangs out with the same friends. Deep down, he is the same person.