“My Toughest Battle – A Soldier’s Lifelong Struggle with Polio”
Presented by Ducommun
📘 Now Available: My Toughest Battle – A Soldier’s Lifelong Struggle with Polio
Dive deeper into MG Matz’s extraordinary story of courage, resilience, and service. This inspiring memoir is now available in the ABMF eShop.
Get the Book1:32 – 4:48 The polio epidemic of the 1930s and 1940s.
4:49 – 5:20 Revolutionary Kenny Polio Treatment developed by Sister Elizabeth Kenny, an Australian WWI nurse.
6:18 – 6:28 Released from treatment in 1953, nine years after diagnosis.
6:28 – 7:08 His incentive to avoid being perceived as a “cripple,” and how it shaped his life.
7:53 – 9:01 Mentorship and support from football and lacrosse coaches gave him perseverance.
9:10 – 9:49 Accepted into ROTC at Gettysburg College and commissioned as an infantry officer.
10:15 – 11:36 Assignment to the 82nd Airborne; determination to pass the PT test.
11:39 – 13:38 Protecting James Meredith during integration of the University of Mississippi and stand-by duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
14:06 – 17:36 Combat in the Mekong Delta and Tet Offensive during Vietnam War.
17:58 – 19:46 Matz’s personal mantra: “Never give up.”
19:48 – 23:36 How the Army changed over 30 years — from Vietnam to the all-volunteer force and rapid deployment units.
23:37 – 26:47 Operation JUST CAUSE in Panama and arrest of Manuel Noriega.
25:52 – 28:22 Matz’s physical fitness and running with the troops.
28:23 – 31:58 Role as ABMC Secretary during the WWI Centennial and 75th anniversary of D-Day.
31:59 – 32:15 A life story of resilience and service through major military chapters of the 20th century.
