'Never give up': US war hero in Afghanistan now has a new fight on his hands

Stephen Toboz of Virginia didn't get much rest in a week of vacation on Hilton Head Island.

He rode 50 miles through Sea Pines on a road bike, kayaked 4 1/2 miles in 90 minutes around South Beach and played a round of golf at the Arthur Hills course in Leamington at Palmetto Dunes.

He did all this in stifling heat — with a prosthetic leg below his left knee.

Toboz is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL whose ankle was blown apart on a snow-covered mountaintop in Afghanistan. He lost 3 liters of blood, and if it had not been 20-degrees below zero, he probably would have bled to death.

It was March 2002, in an Operation Enduring Freedom action called Operation Anaconda. In one of the first major battles in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America, the seven-man team was ambushed on that 10,000-foot peak by some 300 Taliban, al-Qaeda and Chechen warriors.

Last month, President Donald Trump bestowed the Medal of Honor on the leader of that elite team, retired Master Chief Britt Slabinski.

"Britt and his teammates were preparing to exit the helicopter onto the mountain when their aircraft was struck by a machine gun and machine gun fire like they’ve never seen before, and a rocket-propelled grenade from al Qaeda terrorists down below," Trump said in the White House ceremony. "Not a good feeling.

"As the helicopter lurched away from the assault, Petty Officer First Class Neil Roberts was flung out of the aircraft — tremendous, tremendous, horrible thing to witness — and onto the side of the mountain before the helicopter crashed into the valley below."

The SEALS then went into the teeth of the fire to get Roberts.

Two American lives were lost. Two suffered serious leg injuries.

Toboz was shot 15 minutes into an 18-hour battle. He was hit by automatic fire from a Russian-made PKM machine gun that shoots a full metal jacket 7.62x39 bullet primarily in the AK-47 assault rifle.

The bullet ended up in his left toe.

"I have the bullet at home," said Toboz. He used to wear it around his neck.

Speeding up

When he got back to America, he asked that doctors quit the slow process of trying to repair his leg and do an amputation.

Nine months later, he was back on full duty in Afghanistan.

"I wanted to face the devil," Toboz said this week. "I wanted revenge. Complacency kills."

He achieved that, but soon thereafter retired and became a civilian training manager for the Department of Defense.

In another nine months, he ran his first half-marathon.

He has competed in three Department of Defense Warrior Games, established in 2010 to enhance the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans.

He participates in 10 events.

"The VA takes care of guys who want to take care of themselves," he said.

He does 10 miles on a road bike in 22 minutes.

He's trying to qualify for the International Paralympics Games in shooting and road bike events.

His golf handicap is about 15. He's recently become a brand ambassador for PXG Golf in a program called PXG Golf For Heroes.

He uses 10 different styles of prosthetic legs.

"I test a lot of legs for the VA," he said.

"People ask if I've slowed down after the amputation," he said. "I tell them it's actually sped me up a little bit."

He has gotten married and has a little girl. He has a company that can put a loved one's DNA into your tattoo dye.

A new chapter

Toboz was asked to speak as a "hometown hero" in the small Pennsylvania town where he grew up, making a name for himself as a wrestler, football player, baseball player and track runner.

He told the crowd to never forget Sept. 11, 2001. He told them to never forget those who gave up their lives and limbs to keep America free.

Toboz has written a manuscript on all that he's been through. He calls it "Long Live the Brotherhood."

But this week, he said he's going to have to change that name.

The book will have some different chapters.

On March 6, he was diagnosed with stage 3-B rectal cancer.

He'll end 12 weeks of chemotherapy this week. Then comes radiation and chemo together.

He said he feels like that familiar picture of the bird swallowing a frog. The frog is almost all gone, and its claws are around the crane's neck, but the caption says, "Don't ever give up."

In that picture, Toboz is the frog.

I sat in on a conversation he had with two local survivors before he left town.

He talked with longtime Hilton Head Islanders Johnny Ussery, an eight-year pancreatic cancer survivor, and Barry Ginn, who six years ago was all but dead from a flesh-eating infection, necrotizing fasciitis, and prostate cancer.

"You are a role model," Ginn said. "People who survive have that attitude."

Ussery thanked Toboz for what he has done for our country, and talked to him about the power of faith.

Toboz said he has seen a brutality in life that leaves behind never-ending nightmares.

But he said his life lessons for others are quite simple.

"Never leave anybody behind," he said.

"Never give up.

"Constantly train to better yourself. You can never have enough training.

"Be a go-getter.

"And if they give you a prosthesis that doesn't fit perfectly, make them fit it perfectly."

He said his book of survival techniques will have a new name: "Combat to Cancer."

And he's taking home something he learned from Ginn about how to say goodbye.

Instead of saying "goodbye," he'll say, "Love you, man. Mean it."

This story was originally published June 21, 2018 at 4:30 PM with the headline "'Never give up': US war hero in Afghanistan now has a new fight on his hands."