A legendary Army bomb tech who was paralyzed and learned to walk again has retired from the military

The most decorated soldier in an elite Army explosive ordnance disposal company retired last month after a legendary career that included defusing hundreds of bombs, saving the lives of countless service members, receiving the country’s second-highest award for valor, and nearly dying under fire at least twice.

Sgt. 1st Class Jeffery Dawson, a member of the 28th Ordnance Company (EOD), which often deploys with the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment and other special operations units, retired on May 17 after recovering from a gunshot wound he sustained in Afghanistan in 2019. The bullet left him paralyzed from the chest down, but with the help of physical therapists and his own ‘never-quit’ attitude, he learned to walk again and completed a 3.1-mile unassisted walk less than a year after he was shot.