Rick is a Class of 2000, Windsor Central High School Graduate.  While attending High School, Rick excelled in athletics.  He was an active leader in sports and the captain of his High School Football and Wrestling teams.

 

In June of 2004, Rick entered the US Army.  Four months later he graduated from Basic and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky as a U. S. Calvary Scout.  After graduation he was sent to Fort Hood, Texas for further training in operating and gunning a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.  In December of 2005 Rick was deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom to Baghdad, Iraq.

 

On September 1, 2006, Rick was part of a routine military mission in the Abu Ghraib region of Iraq.  While on the mission, the Bradley was hit with an IED and the vehicle was engulfed in flames.  Within 40 hours after the explosion, Rick and his two comrades arrived at the military burn unit at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.  Sergeant Luis Montes, who was the commander of the Bradley, passed away on Sep 7.

 

Now retired from the Army, Rick gives inspirational talks to anyone who would like to hear his story.  His story, although tragic in parts, is not a story of tragedy.  It is one of being able to get through anything with a positive attitude.  Most importantly, Rick can honestly say he is happier than he has ever been in his entire life.