u/Cinnimonbuns

Almost thirteen years ago, the photo at the top of this article was posted to reddit (and had since been deleted) and a large discussion formed. In that discussion, one man in particular, the initial medic who treated this soldier, replied and spoke about the incident.

His name (the medic, not the subject of the photo) is Adam Broel. He was with 3rd Platoon, A company, 2/502 with the 101st during their deployment to Afghanistan. I unfortunately do not know the year, but it was before 2012.

I am posting this here because on that day almost 13 years ago, I reached out to his (now deleted) reddit account about becoming an Army 68W. After our brief, informative conversation, I made the decision to enlist in the Army myself.

I have had a long, storied life since then. My career in the Army helped me in ways I can never fully describe, and the journey brought me to places I couldn't have imagined. The whole direction of my life changed after that conversation.

Some of you may recognize me from a time when I was more active here, especially when I did my yearly "So you want to be a firefighter" posts, or used my instructor time to help coach baby medics.

I directly attribute where I am today as a result of the conversation I had that evening with Adam Broel, but I unfortunately have no way to reach out to him. I doubt he even remembers our conversation.

I would like to reach out to him though, and thank him for being the catalyst that started my life in earnest. I would love to tell him, if he wants to hear it, just how that journey changed and what happened over the last 12 years and 11 months.

So I ask you brothers and sisters of the subreddit, if you know Adam or a way to reach him, please reach out to him and let him know I'd like to touch base. Whether its an email, a letter or a text message, I would love the opportunity to tell him how he affected my life.

I know this is a long shot, but I appreciate those of you who are able to try.

Thank you,

cinni

*edited to correct a typo from the referenced post regarding the unit