Marine Cpl. Todd Nicely Keeps Positive Despite Injuries

Marine Cpl. Todd Nicely, of Arnold, was serving in Afghanistan last year when an explosive device hidden beneath a bridge tore off his hands and lower legs. 

Actor Gary Sinise, an Illinois native, will headline a concert Friday at the St. Charles Family Arena to raise money for a fund to build a specially equipped “smart home” for Nicely and his wife at Lake of the Ozarks.

Nicely was stationed near the village of Lakari on March 26, 2010, when he led a group of 12 men out on what he thought would be a routine foot patrol looking for Taliban insurgents in the area.

They were returning to base when Nicely saw a bamboo bridge that would enable them to cross a canal. As the leader, Nicely was the first to cross the bridge. His first step triggered the bomb.

After initial treatment, Nicely was flown to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. His wife, Crystal, a former Marine, flew to Germany to be by his side.

Nicely, 26, is undergoing rehabilitation therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. He returned to the St. Louis area this week to visit family and friends and attend Hollywood actor Gary Sinese's concert, with his Lt. Dan Band, on Friday.

Patch: What do you recall about the day you were injured?

Nicely: I was on a routine security patrol looking for the Taliban in the area. We decided to cross the bridge and the first step turned out to be a bomb. I stepped on a pressure plate.

I had about three guys show up and put tourniquets on. Two of them were my patrol members, and one was a doctor from another patrol base who ran down there. They got me on a gurney and to a helicopter.

Patch: How do you maintain your positive outlook?

Nicely: I attribute a lot of it to my wife and a little bit to not feeling sorry for myself. You’ve got to get up and do your day-to-day thing. You can just lay around in a hospital bed, but that’s not much of a life. You’ve got to get up and take it on a day-to-day basis. 

Patch: Gary Sinise and Tunnel to Towers have committed to building you a house at Lake of the Ozarks. How did that come about?

Nicely: I ran into Gary Sinise the first time in Las Vegas. He let me know that they were going to build a house for me. I’m completely surprised. Just the things he does for people is outstanding. He really does good things. He does all the USO tours and is into military awareness. He’s really a good guy.

We picked Lake of the Ozarks because of the location. It's right between my wife’s and my parents’ houses, so to make it fair on both of them, we picked Lake of the Ozarks.