Eight soldiers wounded in combat are taking part in the Wounded Warrior Education Initiative at KU. The program gives soldiers the opportunity to earn graduate degrees while continuing their military careers. Five students have already graduated from the program, the only such initiative in the nation.

Kortney Clemons remembers most of what happened on a February day in Baghdad five years ago. The U.S. Army medic was carrying a wounded soldier to a Blackhawk helicopter when an improvised explosive device detonated, severely injuring his right leg.

Nathan Dehnke was on patrol in Iraq nearly two years later when he stepped on an IED that sent shrapnel tearing through his left leg and face.

As they recovered from their respective injuries — Clemons' right leg was amputated above the knee and Dehnke suffered significant damage to his left leg and was blinded in his left eye — both knew their career plans had changed. Neither had an idea that change would lead them to the University of Kansas.

Clemons and Dehnke are now two of eight soldiers wounded in combat taking part in the Wounded Warrior Education Initiative at KU. The program gives soldiers the opportunity to earn graduate degrees while continuing their military careers. Five students have already graduated from the program, the only such initiative in the nation.

Kortney Clemons

After his injury, Clemons woke up at a military hospital in Germany. He had lost his leg and faced a long road to recovery. During his rehabilitation, an Army staffer told him about the Wounded Warrior program. He had considered continuing his education before; before joining the Army, he played defensive back on his junior college football team and studied at Pennsylvania State University.

"They’ve been places and done things that few people have. I think it is a benefit to have them in the classroom, it’s a benefit to have them on campus."

— Professor Adrian Lewis

He liked the idea of going back to school. Even though he'd lost a leg, he was eager to return to athletic competition. Clemons was fitted with a prosthetic leg and has since competed in the Paralympics. He's among the top rated sprinters and long jumpers in the world and is training for the 2011 Paralympics World Championships in New Zealand.

"I've been training with the KU track team for about five weeks now," Clemons said. "It's been awesome, being back in the team environment. My events I'll be doing (at the World Championships) are the 100 meters, 200 meters and the long jump."

Like any other student athlete, Clemons is balancing his athletic exploits with schoolwork. He's in the first semester of the master's program in the School of Education. He's had a life-long love of education and said he believes his experience will help him teach soldiers once he finishes his degree.

"I really enjoy learning. I feel like when I'm not learning I'm kind of falling behind," Clemons said. "A lot of times with my injury being so physical, you can see it, it inspires people without even saying a word. Then for the people that do have the nerve to say something or ask what happened, at that time I get a chance to share a story with them. I try to use some of my life as a tool to help others. If I'm able to do that, it will be awesome."

Nathan Dehnke

Dehnke didn't join the Army right away. After college, he had established a career as a successful elementary school teacher and basketball coach. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, inspired the same patriotic feelings in him that it did in so many Americans. He didn't run out and join the Army immediately, though. Dehnke had made a pledge to a group of his students to stick with them. As those students graduated and he neared his 30th birthday, he felt the time was right to both challenge himself and serve his country. He enlisted in the Army in 2004.

"Overall it wasn't a bad transition, in no small part because the students that were in my classes, the teachers, advisers and other administration officials here at KU made it very easy."

— Nathan Dehnke

In June 2007, he was serving in the airborne infantry when he was wounded. After he recovered, he returned to teaching in his native St. Louis. He heard about KU's Wounded Warriors program and the opportunity it would give him to earn a master's degree and continue his career with the Army. In a matter of weeks, he had taken the GRE, enrolled in classes and made the move to KU's Lawrence campus. He's now in the second year of his master's program in political science. Dehnke hopes to work in foreign policy analysis for the Department of Defense and eventually earn a doctorate.

The life of a soldier and teacher is different from that of a college student. The transition worried him at first, but he credits faculty and classmates for making it less stressful than he imagined.

"I'm significantly older than (most students) and getting used to the college lifestyle took some time for adjustment," Dehnke said. "Overall it wasn't a bad transition, in no small part because the students that were in my classes, the teachers, advisers and other administration officials here at KU made it very easy."

Serving veterans

Adrian Lewis, a professor of history and director of the Office of Professional Military Graduate Education who retired from the U.S. Army, said Clemons and Dehnke are good examples of soldiers who have persevered and are on track for successful careers, even if combat injuries changed their plans. They are just two of many soldiers and veterans on KU's campus.

The Office of Professional Military Graduate Education oversees several programs with the U.S. Army and works with veterans and officers from various branches of the military. Air Force Academy students are working toward doctorate degrees at KU and will return to the academy to teach.

"We even have Naval officers here in the heart of Kansas," Lewis said.

Student veterans and soldiers bring a unique perspective and are an asset to the university, he said.

"They've had unique experiences," Lewis said. "They've been places and done things that few people have. I think it is a benefit to have them in the classroom, it's a benefit to have them on campus. I hope that they get to meet other students here, and I hope that others recognize the sacrifices that have been made."

By Mike Krings