SSG Brian Pearce

Mechanicsville, VA

A strong desire to serve something higher than himself led Brian Pearce to join the military. He served in the Army from 1992 to 2000, enlisting for the second time in 2004.

On October 20, 2006, during his second deployment to Iraq, Staff Sergeant Pearce was serving with the 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, 172 Stryker Brigade Combat Team as a gunner when an improvised explosive device (IED) blast struck his vehicle. A piece of shrapnel penetrated his helmet and skull, lodging in his right occipital lobe, causing him to lose consciousness.

SSG Pearce was airlifted to a military hospital in Balad, where he underwent emergency craniectomy surgery for a brain hemorrhage. He had an additional surgery at Landstuhl, Germany before returning stateside to Bethesda Naval Hospital, finally transferring to Walter Reed Military Hospital, where he spent six weeks in the ICU. His injuries resulted in blindness, severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) with balance impairment, migraines, bilateral hearing loss, and Tinnitus.

Now, Brian enjoys spending time with his wife Angie, and their two children, Jordan and Logan. A life member of The Blinded Veterans Association, VFW Virginia, and Washington and Henry Lodge No. 344, Brian also enjoys fishing and golfing.

A specially adapted custom home will allow Brian to navigate safely from room to room. Currently, his wife and children worry about leaving him alone with the potential for injury in his non-adapted home. The open floor plan, single-level, barrier-free environment will give Brian and his family more freedom and independence, allowing them to participate more often in community activities.

Brian is choosing to build his home in Virginia to be close to family, as well as an established support system.
Brian would like HFOT donors and supporters to know they are lifting a burden of anxiety for his entire family. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We feel so blessed that we have been chosen to have been given such a gift.”

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