Marine Cpl. Joe Piram turned age 23 on July 20 and his birthday included a major gift:

“He got to stand up for the first time in a month,” said Joe's father, Charlie Piram.

Almost exactly a month earlier, on June 20, Joe, who grew up in Eden Prairie, had been on patrol in Afghanistan when his Humvee hit an improvised explosive device. Joe was badly injured, with burns on 30 to 40 percent of his body.  One other of his fellow Marines was killed during the blast that injured Joe; two others were also injured, said Charlie.

Within a few days of the incident, Joe was transported back to America, to the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. It was the start of a hard month for the Piram family. Eden Prairie residents Charlie and Judy Piram were flown down to San Antonio, to join their son.

They charted his progress on their Caring Bridge site which details the precarious days and weeks that followed. An entry dated June 23 reads: “We were also informed that travel arrangements were being prepared for Charlie and I. Travel arrangements were confirmed and we will depart Mpls., this evening. Our journey of healing begins …”

 And from the June 24 entry: ”… Joe is heavily sedated, wrapped up like a mummy. We are anxious to see his face, and hear his voice, but must be patient. We are so lucky Joe is alive. Thanks to God!”

Charlie Piram notes that they've been told the Brooke Army Medical Center is the premier burn hospital in the world.

“The reason being, they say, is because they’ve had so much practice, unfortunately,” added Charlie.

He said that the doctors and nursing staff are fantastic.

“They want to make sure everybody is being taken care of.”

Joe was in the intensive care unit for about a month, according to Charlie.

“It’s gotten easier since he’s been getting better, but the first month was really, really hard because he was not awake for the first month.”

For a week in mid-July, Judy and Charlie Piram returned to Eden Prairie to tend to their work schedules. In their place, watching over Joe, were his buddies, former Marines who had served with Joe during his time Iraq.

“They were there when he woke up.”

Charlie noted that Joe's fellow Marines were able to talk to him and calm him as they told him where he was. One of the Marines dialed Charlie and said, “Hey there’s somebody here that wants to talk to you.”

He held the phone up to Joe’s ear and Joe said to his father, for the first time in a month, “Hi Dad,” recalled Charlie.

Gifts

The Pirams were back for Joe's birthday, which included that stand-up moment, along with the removal of his tracheostomy tube, and even a little ice cream. But there have been more stand-up moments to follow.

Pastor Rod Anderson of St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie has been in contact with the Pirams all along.

“He’s just such a strong person,” said Anderson about Joe. “Just highly committed to what he’s doing.

“He’s proud to serve his country.”

Joe was rewarded for his service a few days after his birthday. A Purple Heart was presented to him by his former platoon commander out of Iraq. A day later, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited the hospital. According to Charlie, Gates spoke to Joe, thanked him for his service and gave Joe his card.

Joe's always been interested in being a part of the military, said Charlie.  Joe used to read military history all the time, he noted.

 “He really wanted to do this,” Charlie said about Joe’s joining the Marines.

 He described his son as a very patriotic guy but also a happy-go-lucky type, “kind of goes with the flow.”

Joe graduated from Eden Prairie High School in 2004. He played both baseball and hockey in Eden Prairie.

 “He really loves hockey,” said his dad.

Joe is member of the Golf Company from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment stationed out of Twentynine Palms, Calif.

He first had two, seven-month-long tours of Iraq. As for the Afghanistan deployment, he was due to come home in about a month … until being injured by the IED.

“That’s how close he was,” said Charlie.

Healing

It's a slow, delicate process to heal from burns. Charlie said doctors estimate the recovery process will take a year.

That process “depends on how well he heals.”

“He’s been moving right along,” he added.

 His family will be there to support Joe during that year. The next step for Joe in the healing process is to be transferred to the guest house near the hospital.

“He has to be able to walk over to the guest house and walk back,” said Charlie.

Once he can do that, Joe will walk to and from the hospital for rehabilitation. His family will be taught to do wound care until Joe can tend to it himself.

Also helping are Joe's friends in the Marines, those healing with him and those with which he's previously served.

“They’re all there and they’re all in pretty good spirits,” said Charlie about the other injured Marines from Joe’s squad.

Marines from Twentynine Palms also have visited Joe.

“It really is a band of brothers, these Marines,” remarked Charlie.

Joe has also received support from some from surprising places. Charlie said he can’t believe all the support they’ve gotten from those visiting the Caring Bridge site, from people they don’t even know.

 “The support of the community and the people …” he said. It’s been unbelievable, he added.

“You can see this is a really good country.”

  Click here to visit Cpl. Piram's Caring Bridge Site. Or visit www.caringbridge.org and search cpljoepiram.