Marine welcomed home after losing both legs in Afghanistan

KENOSHA (WITI) -- Lance Corporal Matthew Grashen returned home to Kenosha this holiday weekend as he is recovering from a severe injury suffered in Afghanistan.

The community held a welcome home ceremony for L Cpl Grashen on Saturday, November 30th at Bradford High School.

"It's very awesome to see all these guys out, everybody here to wish me a welcome home," said L Cpl Grashen. "It was like a lot of gifts before Christmas. It's an early Christmas."

L Cpl Grashen lost both legs when he stepped on an IED this past August. He is currently months into a lengthy recovery process at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.

"There's lots of wounded warriors there. We all live together, we work out together, we eat together," said L Cpl Grashen.

"The last couple months it's been all about staying positive," said Grashen's wife, Miya. "He's the prime example of somebody who has just an amazing faith and works hard every single day. He's in the gym three times a day breaking a sweat so he keeps himself busy."

Recently, L Cpl Grashen has been testing out a new pair of prosthetic legs. After he's back on his feet, Grashen says he wants to use his experiences to serve others.

"I will be back on my feet soon and back running and walking and everything else," said L Cpl Grashen. "Looking into staying in the military and possible helping new wounded warriors coming in, sort of a mentor standpoint, see if I can offer help and assistance, you know, the same way I was helped."

Hundreds of supporters turned out for the welcome home ceremony, including Grashen's friends and family, high school wrestling coaches, and complete strangers.

Grashen says he expects to spend about a year to a year and a half recovering in Maryland.