- December 16, 2025
Ian Lennon, retired U.S. Marine, had 90% of his body burned in 2003, while deployed in Iraq.
He told his story to the Buddy Taylor Middle School football team, Tuesday, Aug. 30, as part of its character program.
“We realized as coaches that we can have a real big impact on (the players’) lives by teaching them more than playing football,” coach Mike Garrett said.
Lennon deployed to Iraq Jan. 15, 2003. March 6, 2003, was a day Lennon said he will never forget.
He and his team were sanitizing water six miles south of the Iraqi border; upon returning to camp, Lennon was refilling the gas in the trucks, when flames started shooting out of the gas tank.
“I knew people were 50 yards away — half of a football field,” he told the middle-school athletes. “I did the 50-yard dash in under two seconds. It was either stay there and die, or dash.”
After spending nearly a year in the hospital and six months as an outpatient, Lennon found out that the flames came from someone not properly grounding the truck.
Lennon said that his biggest challenge was going out in public again.
“I was 23, 24 years old, and I looked in the mirror, and I didn’t see myself anymore,” Lennon said.
Through the help of the Wounded Warriors Foundation, Lennon faced those fears by appearing in front of 2,000 people at Yankee Stadium.
Despite his injuries, Lennon said that becoming a Marine was one of the best decisions he has ever made.
“My injuries have made me a better person in life,” he told them.
