United States Army Sergeant First Class Ryan Hendrickson was born in Fall River Mills, California. He grew up in Lowell, Oregon where he and his sister were raised by their father. Hendrickson attended Lowell High School where he developed passions for playing football and wrestling.
Hendrickson was encouraged to join the military and serve his country from a young age as his father served two tours in Vietnam, instilling in his son his love of country and service. Throughout Hendrickson’s extensive career he served for three different branches of the military. He joined the Navy in 1997, serving on the USS Shreveport and the USS Camden for four years, after which he spent two years in the Naval reserves before transferring to the Air Force in 2003. After five years with the 366 fighter wing in the Air Force, Hendrickson transferred one final time to the Army and Special Forces in 2008 where he was a part of the 7th Special Forces Group. He would serve as a Green Beret in the United States Army until 2020, when he medically retired. He went back to Afghanistan after his retirement as a Government Contractor working as a Counter IED advisor both in 2020 and 2021.
Hendrickson absolutely loved travel and the sense of adventure that came with being in the military. Above all Hendrickson adored the opportunity of serving his country everyday. Hendrickson retired a highly decorated veteran, having earned many awards such as the Silver Star, 4 Bronze Stars, and an ACRM with V and a Purple Heart. Most notably, he received the Major General Frederick Award in 2017.
On September 12th, 2010 Hendrickson was on a clearance operation in the Uruzgan Province of Afghanistan attempting to save one of his Afghan counterparts near his objective. It was during this mission when he stepped on an improvised explosive device which nearly severed his right leg. Hendrickson suffered major blast trauma to his right leg, scrotum, and shrapnel in his left leg. Hendrickson underwent 28 surgeries in an attempt to salvage his right leg which turned out to be successful. After two years of recovery, Hendrickson returned to his Special Forces Team in Afghanistan where he would deploy again in 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and as a contractor in 2020 and 2021.
Currently Hendrickson resides in Pace, Florida where he is very involved with his community. His interests now revolve around charity work and helping others. Hendrickson even started his own charity organization called Tip of the Spear Landmine Removal. Their goal is to conduct demining operations throughout the world, helping make areas safe for civilians to live free from fear. Hendrickson would like to extend his gratitude to his father Larry, for giving him strength through very difficult times and his wife Dawn, for being his rock.