YORK COUNTY, Pa. — An American hero helped spread his message of hope and determination during the Four Chaplains Memorial of York County's 30 Year Gala on Wednesday.
Retired Army SSG Travis Mills spoke at the event, explaining how when he suffered a life changing event 20 years ago, he didn't let it slow him down.
The Army veteran suffered wounds in war in April 2018 when an IED exploded in Afghanistan where Mills was on patrol during his third tour of duty.
As a result, Mills has two prosthetic legs, a missing arm, and another that was badly damaged.
"On my third trip over there, I guess you could say I had a bad day at work," Mills said. "You could say...I put my back pack down on a bomb."
Despite the blast taking portions of both his arms and legs, Mills didn't let it take his grit or determination.
As one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive his injuries, Mills lives by the mantra, "Never give up, and never quit."
"I was in the hospital, no arms and no legs – basically a 25-year-old baby," Mills explained. "And the therapist asked me one day if I wanted to stop doing sit ups and stop working out. I told her that I was never going to give up, and never going to quit on myself."
To help others like himself, Mills and his wife, Kelsey, founded the Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit organization that was formed to benefit and assist post 9/11 veterans that were injured on active duty or as a result of their service to our nation.
To this day, Mills travels all over the nation to help inspire anyone to overcome life's challenges and adversity.
"You've got to take it one day at a time... but you can always do better. Be better, get involved, and give back," Mills said.
Tonight's gala is the first part of the Four Chaplains of York County event, as Mills is set to speak to 350 local high school students on Thursday morning for the group's annual scholarship breakfast.
For more information on the Travis Mills Foundation, you can visit its website here.