U.S. Navy and U.S. Army SSG Jason Livingston was born in Mattoon, Illinois, and raised in Illinois. Growing up, Livingston enjoyed doing many outdoor activities like hiking, fishing, and camping. While on tour on his first deployment in Baghdad, Iraq, he met his wife, Brandy, and has been with her since.
For as long as Livingston could remember, joining the military was something he had always planned on doing. Specifically, he remembers the defining moment that made him want to join was after the attacks of 9/11. Livingston’s first enlistment was in the U.S. Navy in 2000; afterward, he re-enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2004. “I served in 8-10 CAV 4th Brigade 4th Infantry Division, 3/81 Armored 194th Training Brigade, 1-91 CAV 137rd Airborne Brigade, 6-8 CAV 4th Brigade 3rd Infantry Division”. Livingston says that one of the top accomplishments of his entire military career was “bringing all of my soldiers home alive from our deployments”. What he loved most about being a part of the military was the ability to travel and experience new places and cultures. He made his full effort to make a career out of the military.
On October 1, 2010, Livingston sustained multiple Taliban indirect mortar attacks. The impact of the shrapnel and the blast force from the explosion of the mortar rounds threw him against the building he was next to. He had four 82 mm mortars dropped on top of him and he took shrapnel to the left side of his neck and the base of his skull. After the attack, he sustained two simultaneous traumatic brain injuries; one from the shrapnel and the other from the impact from hitting the building. Additionally, he sustained multiple spinal injuries: three herniated discs in his cervical spine and three herniated discs in his lumbar spine. Furthermore, he sustained bilateral knee injuries.
Livingston’s recovery process was extremely long and challenging. He lost roughly a year’s worth of memory as he says, “I don’t remember anything from about three months before my injury to almost nine months after my injury”. The damage to Livingston’s nerves in his body causes severe migraines which result in him puking and frequently passing out from the pain. He almost depended on his wife to help him with basic needs like showering, getting dressed, and driving to work. He went through all kinds of therapy, for example, occupational therapy, extensive vision therapy, and physical therapy.
Currently, Livingston and his family reside in South Carolina where he looks forward to playing an active part in his family’s lives. He goes out of his way to volunteer at his daughter’s school and volunteers with many veteran community organizations. He would like to mention his wife, Brandy, for the unconditional love, support, and care she showed through his recovery and his life today. Receiving support from the Tunnel to Towers Foundation has helped remove much of the uncertainty from his life as well as his family’s lives. He has a newfound independence in his life which has allowed him to take care of his family and share in everyday life.
The most important thing that U.S. Navy and U.S. Army SSG Jason Livingston would like people to know about himself and his story is that, in his words, “I love my family and my Country and I wouldn’t change a thing that I have been through, I would still be out there with my soldiers right now if they would let me. I just hope to live a life worthy of the sacrifice made by all of my brothers and sisters who did not make it home, and for those who lost their lives on 9/11/01 on American soil I took the fight to the enemy with everything I had in me.”
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation has provided U.S. Navy and U.S. Army SSG Jason Livingston with a mortgage-free smart home through the Smart Home Program.