Local nominee
You’ve been nominating your Local Heroes — those who serve their communities day in, day out without the recognition they deserve — by the dozen.
And today Metro begins featuring the nominees. There will be more about them in our special, end-of-year edition to be published on Dec. 27:
Brendan Marrocco
On Easter Sunday 2009, U.S. Army Specialist Brendan Marrocco was stationed north of Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded under his vehicle, causing the loss of all four of his limbs.
He is the first veteran in Iraq or Afghanistan to survive a quadruple amputation in combat. Since his injury, his brother Michael has moved with him to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to undergo extensive physical therapy.
Marrocco has endured more than 14 operations, learned to use four prosthetic limbs and inspired other wounded service members as well as his Staten Island community.
Liz Stephens nominated Marrocco for the Metro Local Heroes award because “He looks forward to life and he has given a thousand mothers and fathers a chance to hope for a more secure life for their sons and daughters.”
National nominees
Pity Kim Kardashian.
She’s, distinctly, the poor relation from the first day of voting in Metro’s Man and Woman of the Year event.
The other five nominees received a substantial amount of support on day one of the voting for the event, which culminates in a special edition of Metro on Dec. 27.
In the Man of the Year event, President Barack Obama, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the 33 Chilean Miners who spent 69 days trapped underground are just about neck-and-neck.
In the Woman of the Year event, first lady Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin are slugging it out, vote for vote. Kim Kardashian received — how can we put this? — fewer than 10 votes yesterday.
Still, there’s still two weeks to go. –Metro
