By Gary Norton, AmeriCorps VISTA member serving with NeighborWorks

Gary Norton (standing) performing a community training during his service. 

I had served in the U.S. Coast Guard for about 2 years when my service was cut short by an accident aboard a Coast Guard High Endurance Cutter. The ship was going through a typhoon in the middle of the Pacific Ocean while returning from an ocean station between Japan and Midway Island. The ship had taken a large swell (wave) and I was thrown down a hatch inside the ship’s berthing area and was knocked unconscious. I had developed head trauma to the brain and started to have seizures. I was honorably discharged from service with a service-connected disability. As time went on, I eventually healed and started my life again.

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