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Saving Sergeant Canon: Limb Salvage

Marine Corps Sgt. Oscar Canon holds the tattered hat he wore on the day he was wounded in the Iraq War.
Joseph Shapiro, NPR
Marine Corps Sgt. Oscar Canon holds the tattered hat he wore on the day he was wounded in the Iraq War.

Last year in Iraq, a rocket-propelled grenade tore off most of Marine Corps Sgt. Oscar Canon's thigh, exposing his artery and leg bone. Doctors at Bethesda Naval Hospital doubted his leg could be saved. But Canon wanted to try. Now, nine months later, he is set to undergo the latest of 33 surgeries to reconstruct his leg. As part of NPR’s Span of War series, correspondent Joseph Shapiro tells the story of the crucial "limb salvage" operation to save Sgt. Canon's leg.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Joseph Shapiro is a NPR News Investigations correspondent.