We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Major Edward Pulido. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Major Edward below.
Major Edward, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
In the fall of 2020, PGA Major Champion John Daly and Combat Wounded Veteran Major Ed Pulido, U.S. Army (Ret.), united to create a significant philanthropic impact. Their shared passion led them to start the Heart of a Lion Foundation with a mission to provide mental, physical and wellness support to our nation’s children, our first responders and Americas Veterans and their families.
Major Edward, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Major Ed Pulido, U.S. Army (Ret.). I am the Founder and CEO of the John Daly – Major Ed Heart of a Lion Foundation which provides mental, physical and wellness support to our nation’s children and Americas Veterans. Additionally, I was the Sr. VP and I am a current Ambassador for the Folds of Honor Foundation, a Veteran’s charity which provides the spouses and children of the fallen and wounded educational scholarships. I am also a founding member of Warriors for Freedom Foundation, a leadership institute focused on the mental, physical and wellness support of our wounded Veterans and their families. I am also a spokesperson for First American Title. Finally, I am the Founder of Warrior Nation, a movement focused on the rights of liberty, freedom and patriotism with an autobiography entitled Warrior for Freedom: Challenge, Triumph and Change, The Major Ed Pulido Story.
I have a degree in Military Science, Marketing, and Criminal Justice and a master’s degree in Logistics Management/Human Relations from the military. I attained the Rank of Major in my 19-year military career and on May 16, 2005, I was medically retired from the United States Army. On the 17th of August 2004, I hit an Improvised Explosive Device (I.E.D) or roadside bomb while serving with the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team under the command of General David Petraeus. Due to the extensive injuries to my left knee, doctors had to amputate my left leg on October 1, 2004. For my heroism and valor on that August day, the President of the United States along with General David Petraeus awarded me the Bronze Star with Valor, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, and Joint Service Commendation and Achievement Medals.
My story of courage and sacrifice has been featured in Time Magazine, PGA Magazine, Fox News, CNN and many national and local Oklahoma City television stations and print media. Since, my amputation, I have been a staunch advocate for veterans with disabilities, specifically focusing on advocacy efforts to promote prosthetic technologies, peer visiting with fellow amputees at Brooke and Walter Reed Medical Centers and raising awareness on the needs of veterans with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injuries (T.B.I) on behalf of the DOD and Real Warriors National Campaign.
I have received countless awards including the prestigious National Quarterback Club Legacy Award, Disabled American Veteran of the Year Award, HeartLine Festival of Hope Award for Suicide Prevention, the Hero’s award from the American Red Cross, the Reaching our City Award, OKC Thunder/Devon Energy Community Hero Award, and the Daughters of the American Revolution Veteran patient Award. Additionally, I have received the Valley Forge Freedom Foundation Award for national and state level service and the Tuskahoma Brown Miller Award for outstanding leadership.
On a personal note, during my time in the hospital I experienced the inner darkness of depression, PTSD, and suicidal ideation that would cripple my positive spirit. This inner darkness I describe as a “deep wounding of a soldier’s spirit”. It was at that time that I understood that as a Warrior I could not walk alone in this journey. In that moment, I asked for help from my God, Country, my family, and the American people. The result of this intervention would put my life on the road to recovery. It would also be the building block for my understanding the inner wounds of war and making sure that mental health is a strong focus of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Since my tragedy, I have been a national and global spokesperson for Acadia HealthCare, Department of Defense and VA Real Warriors National Campaign and I am on the State Board of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services with a mission to address the mental health needs of returning service members, Veterans and their families. I have been married to Karen Pulido for 32 years. We have a daughter Kaitlin who is 22 and a daughter Kinsley who is 18. Both of them are Folds of Honor Scholarship Recipients. Me and my family reside in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Based upon a true story, Major Ed recounts a life-changing incident in the life of Ed Pulido, a 19-year veteran with the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve 75th Division. On August 17, 2004, Pulido, known for his patriotism and love for the military, was struck by a roadside bomb in the Iraq desert and seriously injured. The 36-year-old Hispanic officer was faced with multiple hard decisions throughout his long ordeal, including 17 operations, unclear support and miscommunication from his own division, numerous hospital stays, rehabilitative sessions, a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and finally, among the toughest battles of all – whether to stay in his beloved military or become a medically discharged veteran.
Because of my story, I created the Major Ed philanthropic Brand. A philanthropic brand that serves with honor, duty and responsibility to God, country and family. Our product is to save and impact lives through our marketing and creative story telling strategies. What set us apart if that we have celebrity champions that empower our Veterans, first responders and Americas children by mentoring them and providing them strong outlets for future success.
What I am most proud of is the work we are doing to curve the suicide epidemic here in America. We do this through a collaborative strength-based military approach to recovery by using peer to peer support empowerment strategies. Our success and standards of excellence recovery approach is game changing as we use high impact military warfighters to develop a plan of attack for those that face life challenges in their recovery. In this boot camp approach to healing, we dig deep to find the root causes of problems and develop a treatment plan that improves the quality of life in the community and on the Homefront. By providing a mental, physical and healing approach to therapeutic process, our recovery clients get back into the workforce and become productive national speakers using storytelling as a means of connection and recovery. It’s what we call the Mission First, People Always approach to quality-of-life improvement.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Retired Major Ed Pulido loves his country. His father, who served 30 years in the military, taught him the importance of loving and abiding by the Constitution of the United States. Because of this, Ed always knew that he would join the Army and did so in 1986.
Stationed in Iraq in 2004, under General Petraeus, Ed helped train a new Iraqi Army; getting them combat ready and capable of securing their country. “It was a tough mission,” he explained. “There were lots of security risks with cultural and safety issues.” These risks became reality when on August 17, while travelling to a new base in Iraq, his vehicle hit an Improvised Explosive Devise (I.E.D) causing massive injuries. “I was with my Colonel, but I took the brunt of the force. All over the left side of my body were little pieces of fragments that just imploded, and the cab was on fire.”
A brave combat medic pulled him from the wreckage, and they rushed him to the Baghdad hospital by helicopter, where he underwent 17 hours of surgery. Three days later he remembers awakening to the Chaplain and General Petraeus standing by his bed, and it was then he was awarded the Purple Heart.
His hospital flight pattern would be Baghdad for 4 days; then to Balad, Iraq; Germany; Walter Reed Hospital, Bethesda; and finally, Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio. At every hospital, he would undergo surgeries to clean out the now two staph infections and chemical agent found in his leg. “I was running high fevers and filled with antibiotics, but I’ll never forget getting home – arriving at Walter Reed – and the generals salute you and the veterans are welcoming you home. It was so powerful.”
But it was at Brooke Medical Center that doctors told him his leg could not be saved and must be amputated. Ed recalls, “It was so hard. I remember trying to make that awful decision with my family.” His mother had collected the more than 560 cards he had received and put them on the wall of his room. Ed reflects, “There was one card in the center of the room that had a picture of Jesus on the front and the card talked about how God would heal me, and that was my inspiration to go on.”
The surgery was on September 30, 2004, and on October 1, they were able to close the wound. “They couldn’t have closed it if infection was still present, but by the grace of God, it was gone.” But even though 17 days later he was already learning how to use a prosthetic, reality had set in. “Not only was it difficult to learn to walk, but I had to come to grips with this loss and the worry of how I was going to live; how was I going to take care of my family?” One night, they wheeled him outside where he looked up at the stars and prayed, “I said the Lord’s Prayer and asked Him to give me strength and courage and help me take care of my family. I remember they wheeled me back in, and I knew we’d be OK.”
It was May 2005 when Ed retired from the Army, Through all this, Ed credits the love his family and his faith for where he is today. “My wife, my girls, my parents, and all my family have never left my side.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: majoredpulido
- Facebook: Edward Pulido
- Linkedin: Major Ed Pulido, US Army
- Twitter: Major Ed Pulido @majoredpulido
- Youtube: Edward Pulido @EdwardPulido-wq9fi
Image Credits
Major Ed Pulido