03/19/2021
Brandon Tennery was born in Dec. 1989 in Tulsa, Ok, and grew up in San Marcos, Tx. At the young age of 16, he graduated from Job Corps, and was taken in by his pastor in Dallas, Tx where he decided to fulfill his dream of becoming a soldier in the US Army. Brandon went to Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sill, OK. Upon graduation, he was assigned to Colorado Springs with the 2/77th Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team. In March, 2009 Brandon was ordered to his first combat tour in Afghanistan, where he received his first mild injuries and returned to CO in 2010. He was then promoted to Sergeant on his 21st birthday. In May, 2011 he was sent to Fort Bliss in TX. He was getting ready to deploy again with his new unit, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, 4th Battalion, Field Artillery Regiment, for his second tour in Afghanistan. Sgt. Tennery was deployed to a small combat outpost where they attacked daily. April 11, 2012, the unit was taking small arms fire and Brandon ran to the top of a hill to get to higher ground. Following behind, his team was there a short while after. When his team found him, Brandon was unconscious and having multiple seizures. He had been thrown and slightly burned from 2 RPG's and a 107 rocket. Resulting from this was a TBI, loss of vision/hearing, imbalance, and almost 20 internal injuries. Brandon's team worked diligently to get him off the hill while still under fire, and he was medivacked to Forward Operating Base in Shank, Afghanistan, where his blood pressure skyrocketed to a dangerous level. At this point, he was intubated and transferred to Bagram Air Field then Germany for a week. Eventually, Brandon was sent to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. After a long recovery period, he began competing in adaptive sports while in the Warrior Transition Unit where he won ribbons and medals. In 2018, Brandon had a long lasting seizure in the hotel restaurant during a Warrior Weekend event with Beyond the Battlefield, a foundation started by John (TIG) Tiegen, subject of book and movie "13 Hours" and his wife Margaret. After being sent to the hospital and ensuring his wellbeing, the foundation began helping Brandon with getting him a service dog, which he named Jack. Brandon has also gone through hyperbaric treatment through this foundation, to help with the TBI and PTS (post traumatic stress). Brandon's passion is photography, specifically capturing emotions of not only veterans but their families, as well as nature shots. He recently went through a photography program and some of his work is displayed at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center. He has been offered a chance to go meet with Barry Morgenstein, New York's Top Headshot Photographer for a mentoring photography session. Brandon needs help to make his dreams come true, as a Purple Heart recipient, he lives on limited income, and struggles with everlasting effects of his time serving our country.
https://www.patreon.com/purpleheartprincephotography
https://www.gofundme.com/f/purple-heart-prince-photography-for-brandon-tenner?utm_medium=email&utm_source=product&utm_campaign=p_email%2B2300-co-team-welcome
