Jan. 11, 2023: Kirstie Ennis
Kirstie Ennis grew up with a strong connection to the U.S. military, as both of her parents served in the Marine Corps. With a desire to serve her country and follow in her parents’ footsteps, Ennis enlisted in the Marine Corps at the age of 17 in Pensacola, Florida, in August 2008. She went on to serve as a helicopter door gunner and airframes mechanic on the CH-53 platforms. She planned to serve for 20 years but served just six after suffering traumatic injuries during her second deployment to Afghanistan.
In June 2012, while performing combat resupplies to “Forward Operating Base (FOB) Now Zad,” the helicopter Ennis was serving on as an aerial gunner made a crash landing in the Helmand Province. She sustained a traumatic brain injury, full thickness facial trauma, bilateral shoulder damage, cervical and lumbar spine injuries and severe wounds to her left leg. After approximately 40 surgeries over the course of three years, Ennis’s left leg was amputated below the knee. One month later, she underwent an amputation above the knee. These injuries forced her to medically retire from the Marine Corps in 2014.
Although Ennis doesn’t have a background in sports, her competitive spirit led her to compete in extreme sports to raise money for others going through difficult situations like hers. When she was lying in a hospital bed post-operation, snowboarding was one of the first sports she considered. She went on to compete for three years in snowboarding and earned a USA Snowboard and Freeski Association national title.
Ennis also developed a passion for mountaineering, and has been determined to climb the highest peak on each continent, also known as the “Seven Summits.” In 2017, she successfully climbed the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia and Mount Kilimanjaro later in the same year. This endeavor also made her the first female above-the-knee amputee to summit Kilimanjaro. Since then, she has taken on several other challenging preparation hikes to train for the “Seven Summits.”
Aside from her athletic endeavors, Ennis has also completed three master’s degrees in human behavior, business administration and public administration, respectively, and is currently working toward a doctorate in education.
Ennis began her non-profit organization to raise money for other organizations who strive to improve others’ lives through education. She serves on multiple charity boards and learned how to create her own prosthetics for climbing. Using these skills, Ennis created a climbing foot for another retired Veteran.
We honor her service.
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Writers: Allison Penna, Tayler Rairigh
Editors: Marisa Bunton, Ashley Shaut
Researcher: Kat Blanchard
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Thank you for your service and sacrifice! Your courage and resilience is inspiring!
Semper Fi Such awesome accomplishments by this Marine she just keeps going and going. So very Proud of her. Keep up the great work Marine.
A salute to my fellow Marine Corps veteran!
I am in awe of your motivated accomplishments!
Seriously pushes me to take more actions to progress myself & our society as a whole. Absolutely love it Devil Dog!
We honor the service of Kirstie Ennis.
Thank you for your service!
Kirstie is great. But, she is definitely not the first. One example is Sarah Evans. She’s a Hip Disarticulation and did the whole thing on Forearm crutches long before Kirstie. And there were more before her. It’s sad when it becomes ok to make up facts. Not even thinking how it takes away from others accomplishments!
[Editor: At News.va.gov, you can use the search bar to search for specific names. We’ve been publishing a VOD daily for years. You or others can also submit new names with the instructions at the bottom of each VOD.]
Looks like there is an opportunity noted from the Editor for these honorable female veterans to be acknowledged in their own Highlights! That way we all stand together instead of a this comparison contest.
Best Regards
god bless you!