Edward “Flip” Klein is from Little Rock, Ark. In high school, he played football and, after graduating, attended West Point, graduating in 2006. He was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, in 2011.
In 2012, while deployed to Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province as a company commander, he stepped on an IED during a dismounted patrol. The explosion resulted in the loss of both his legs above the knee, his right arm above the elbow, and three fingers on his left hand.
For 15 months, Klein focused on recovery. “My family has been the rock of my recovery and has been incredibly supportive during every phase of my recovery,” he said.
His wife, Jessica, was a major support during this time, and the Warrior Transition Unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center assisted him throughout his rehabilitation.
Currently, Klein enjoys winter sports and cycling endurance races. He often mentions two guiding principles from his Ranger training:
“Two of the things I learned is that you can always take another step… that’s more of a figurative idea for me than literal, but the concept still applies,” he said. “I can always push further than I am right now, regardless of how cold, wet, tired or hungry I am… more in this case, injured.
“The second takeaway I got from Ranger school was that most failure is between the ears, and that is to say, really the only thing that can stop me is me… from an internal perspective, that’s what has helped me keep the positive outlook and the forward momentum that I have at this point,” Klein said.
We honor his service.
Nominate a Veteran
Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s “Honoring Veterans” social media spotlight is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.
It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission
A portion of this story was generated by AI. None of the data we reported included personal or sensitive information, and it was fact-checked and edited by a human copy editor prior to publishing.
Prompt Engineer: Tarruck Wheeler
Researcher: Jacoryn Whatley
Graphic Designer: Grace Yang
Topics in this story
More Stories
In honor of National Park Service's National Park Week, this week's Honoring Veterans spotlight honors the service of Army Veteran Michael Trevino, who today works as a facility manager at Reconstruction Era National Historical Park.
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Navy Veteran Ken Mattingly, who served as a pilot during the 1950s and later became an astronaut during the Apollo missions.
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Air Force Veteran Gavino Cavazos, who served from 1949 to 1973 during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
I loved this story. This Solider paid the ultimate sacrifice. I salute you Sir.
Keep on keeping on !!!
Blessings to you and your family .