Politics & Government

Jefferson Marine Loses Legs in Afghanistan Explosion

Sgt. Aaron Alonso, 25, was deployed one week after his wife gave birth to their daughter.

A 25-year-old U.S. Marine from Lake Hopatcong lost both of his legs Saturday in an IED explosion in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Aaron Alonso, who was deployed one week after his wife gave birth to their daughter, had both of his legs amputated and suffered other injuries in Nad Ali, Afghanistan, his father told NJ.com.

David Alonso, who served in the Navy in Vietnam, said his son had surgery Monday morning in a U.S. Military hospital in Germany and believed he was placed in a medically induced coma, NJ.com reported.

Alonso was living with his family before his deployment near Camp LeJune, N.C. Alonso has been a Marine for eight years and his brother, Devon, also served in Afghanistan before he was discharged from the Marine Corps in August, according to NorthJersey.com. 

Alonso's parents, David and Debbie, along with his wife, Jessica, and infant daughter, Riley, were expected to fly to Germany on Tuesday.

"I don't know if we are flying into a tsunami of bad news or what," David Alonso told NorthJersey.com.

Nearly 500 donations totaling more than $40,000 have been made through a GiveForward page established Monday to help pay for Alonso's medical expenses.

"Although undergoing one of the amputations and multiple procedures, Aaron remained calm and was more concerned with making the other Marines nearby laugh," a message on the website reads.


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