TAMPA, Fla — Every year on Aug. 7, we celebrate National Purple Heart Day, and there's a recipient right here in Tampa who has used his heart to make a difference in the lives of hundreds around the world.
Bryan Stern earned his Purple Heart due to the injuries he sustained on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, in New York City. He said it was that day that he decided he was going to spend the rest of his life serving Americans and saving American lives.
Stern was a 22-year-old soldier with the U.S. Army who just happened to be at the foot of the World Trade Center when the first plane hit.
“I make my way to the plaza trying to tell people to go north, go north, get out of the way, get out of the way. A lot of people are scared, a lot of people are running and it’s very chaotic,” said Stern. "And this lady yells out, ‘Oh my God, there’s another one.' There is this loud explosion; the plane hit as I was kind of looking up, and I felt the heat on my face.”
Despite suffering burns and lacerations across his body, Stern never left Ground Zero. He helped dig through the rubble, looking for survivors for the next several days.
Stern went on to serve a decorated military career, first in the Army, then the Navy and now in the reserves.
“Been to Afghanistan a million times, I’ve been all over the world, I’ve been on Seal teams and have a chest full of ribbons,” said Stern.
However, it wasn’t until 2021, two decades following the Sept. 11 attacks, that Stern was awarded the Purple Heart, a recognition that brings mixed emotions.
“You don’t want a Purple Heart. It’s like wanting the POW medal. You have to get hurt to get it,” said Stern. “When I think about Purple Heart Day, I really don’t think about my Purple Heart on 9/11, I don’t think about that at all. I think about all the Gold Star families. I think about all the guys in wheelchairs with no arms and no legs.”
Now Stern uses that Purple Heart to fuel his latest mission, Grey Bull Rescue, a non-profit designed to go into foreign countries plagued by war or natural disaster and rescue Americans and their allies.
“I knew I could help because I do evacuations, I do hostage rescue, I do a lot of this sort of thing that a lot of people don’t know how to do,” said Stern. “So I call some friends of mine, I go, 'Look guys, let's get the band back together.' I know these borders, I know the people, I have friends, I have sources, I have all kinds of good stuff, I know I can help."
Since 2021, Stern and his team have performed over 600 missions around the world, rescuing more than 7,000 people.
“When Oct. 7 happened, we launched into Israel right away; we did the largest private rescue of American citizens in history, 293 Americans,” said Stern.
Stern serves as a voice for those who can’t be heard, his fellow Americans who are only asking for one thing: a way home.
“I don’t care if I’m in the Army, I don’t care if I’m in the Navy, I don’t care if I’m Grey Bull Rescue. My skill set and who I am is who I am, and that’s woven into the fabric, and that all ties back to the morning of 9/11 and how I got my Purple Heart,” said Stern.
For more information on Grey Bull Rescue, click here.
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