WATCH: Marine Who Lost Both Legs Has the Absolute Best Outlook on Life

"The unfairness of life does not equate to the happiness of life."
By
Managing Editor

A U.S. veteran who lost both of his legs while serving in Afghanistan is providing hope to fellow veterans by sharing the story of how he overcame adversity.

Staff Sgt. Joey Jones was serving as a marine in 2010 when took part in “what would be the deadliest deployment” in his job field’s history, he told ABC News.

The Peachtree City, Georgia native was just 23 when he was deployed, and he worked one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: a bomb tech, or someone who disarms explosives.

On Aug. 6, 2010, Jones stepped on an improvised explosive, the blast from which took both of his legs.

“It’s so loud you don’t hear anything,” Jones recalled of the life-threatening moment. “The cloud of dust is so thick you just see the color tan.”

“When I landed on my back, I knew what’d happened,” he continued. “My immediate reaction was to look down, see how much of my legs were left and where I needed tourniquets.”

Jones’ road to recovery included more than two dozen surgeries and months of grueling surgeries. When asked how he was able to overcome such trauma, he said rather than get over it, “you learn to appreciate the things outside of it.”

The veteran has a wife and 7-year-old son, who he said he gained “through this recovery.”

Jones was able to find hope after returning home to the U.S. and honing in on his passion for NASCAR, which brought new purpose to his life after combat.

“Learning to adapt and overcome, that’s what the Marine Corps is all about,” he said.

Jones now uses his incredible story to inspire fellow soldiers and help them cope with returning to civilian life after combat. He has worked with more than half a dozen veteran advocate groups in his mission. He most recently traveled to Austin to speak at the Veterans Day parade on Friday.

“Having adversity, having something – a mountain in front of you that you choose to walk over and not around – that’s happiness,” Jones said.

Jones said that while he “would love” to be able to do things for his family physically, it took losing his legs to make him the man he is now.

Jones is active on his Twitter account. On Tuesday, Election Day, he encouraged U.S. citizens to use their “legs’ to vote.

Watch the whole interview below.