A war veteran who suffered severe burns in a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq won the admiration of US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Wednesday by dancing his way to victory in a TV show.
JR Martinez was crowned the new champion of ABC television's "Dancing with the Stars" late Tuesday after dancing a samba to beat out TV reality show star Rob Kardashian and television host Ricki Lake in a suspenseful finale.
"It's amazing. We've all been putting over three months of work into this. To be able to hold that (mirror ball trophy) up was a tremendous honor," Martinez told ABC's "Good Morning America" show.
It was an especially gratifying journey for Martinez, who suffered burns on 40 percent his body in 2003 when the Humvee he was driving in Iraq hit a landmine.
Among his many fans was Panetta, who sent Martinez a letter of praise and plans to meet with him personally on Friday, the secretary's spokesman Doug Wilson told AFP.
"Your strength and spirit captivated the nation, and your victory sends a strong message about the strength and resilience of our wounded warriors," Panetta said in his letter.
Martinez was a 19-year-old infantryman when he was wounded in Iraq. He spent 34 months in recovery at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas and underwent 33 surgeries.
Then he went on to become a motivational speaker, and finally a contestant in "Dancing with the Stars."
"My most memorable year is the year I was injured," he said on the show's website. "This dance is a tribute to the men and women that didn't make it home."
Copyright 2011 AFP Global Edition
