Without Warning: a Soldier's Extraordinary Journey

By Damien Thomlinson and Michael Cowley

Private Damien Thomlinson is a former member of the elite 2nd Commando Regiment of the Australian Army who was terribly injured in after a bomb explosion in Afghanistan. His inspiring journey back from the dead stands as proof that no challenge is too great and that the ANZAC spirit is truly alive and well.
After losing both his legs in an accident in Afghanistan, Special Forces soldier Damien thomlinson was determined not only to survive, but to meet life head on. this is an uplifting story of guts, drive and exceptional resilience. Without warning, Private Damien thomlinson's life changed forever. On a night patrol in Afghanistan in 2009, his vehicle drove over a taliban explosive device. His right leg turned instantly to red mist and his left leg was severed below the knee. His arms and hands were shattered and his nose smashed. Blood poured into his lungs. He was as close to death as you can get. Damien's story could have been a tragedy, but because of his enormously optimistic spirit it is instead one of triumph and inspiration. Once a commando, always a commando. Damien was determined not to be defined or limited by his injuries. With dogged focus and commitment, he set about reclaiming his life - on his own terms. His extraordinary drive and willpower saw him walking again on prosthetic legs just eight weeks from the time of his accident, ready to stand and welcome his unit home from Afghanistan. He set himself extraordinary challenges including walking the demanding 96km Kokoda track in honour of a fallen comrade and becoming the public face of the Commando Welfare trust. Damien is now an aspiring Paralympian, determined to represent Australia in snowboarding. His life has irrevocably changed, but he believes it has changed for the better.Damien's positive attitude and larrikin, never-say-die spirit are an inspiration to all of us, and the story of his journey is humbling, heartbreaking and truly awe-inspiring.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Oct 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9780732297169

Damien Thomlinson

Private Damien Thomlinson -- a former member of the elite 2nd Commando Regiment of the Australian Army -- was officially released from the army in September 2012. Damien is a regular on the speaking motivational circuit and is in training for the Paralympics (snow-boarding). Damien lives in Sydney with his girlfriend, Leticia.

Book preview

cover-image

Dedication

This is a tribute to those people who,

on so many different levels,

have helped to keep me here.

This book is dedicated to each of those

who have been part of this journey:

family, friends, surgeons, medical staff,

fellow amputees, and most importantly

the guys on the ground that fateful night.

You are, and always will be, my inspiration.

And finally this book is dedicated to

the proud soldiers who have served in any

Australian Defence Force, and to their families

who make their service possible.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

Foreword

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Picture Section

Acknowledgements

Copyright

Foreword

by Ray Martin

I first met Damo down at Perisher, riding a runaway snowboard like a mad thing — taking on the mountain and anything else that got in his way. Getting to know Damien Thomlinson was about as tricky as opening a blizzardly cold VB on a hot Sunday afternoon. Getting to like him was even easier. There he was sporting a technicolour thermal top, a smile as big as Coogee Beach and a twinkle in the eye that was downright dangerous. He was clearly one of those blokes you would never dare, because he’d probably do it — whatever the dare.

It’s a weird thing to say — given the cards that life has dealt him lately — but he still has the essence of an athlete, moving a bit like a football player who’s done a hamstring and may be ‘out for a month’. It’s no surprise to learn that the Iceman’s childhood was a cocktail of cricket, surfing, bikes, adrenalin and risk.

‘I’m not handicapped,’ he laughed, ‘I just don’t have any legs.’

(How he came to be named ‘Iceman’ is a very funny yarn in itself.)

His surgeon Andrew Ellis told me that after the IED blast Damien was ‘as close to death as you can get’. I had met Dr Ellis, an army reserve officer, in the blood ’n’ gore of Aceh after the 2005 Boxing Day tsunami hit the Indonesia archipelago. (He’s not just a top surgeon but a top bloke, too.) I asked Ellis what Damo’s shattered body would have looked like in the dust and chaos of that wild Afghan night. Ellis paused for a moment then said thoughtfully, ‘Like he’d just been attacked by a mad axe-murderer.’ That seemed to answer my question.

Yet here was Damo — not that long after having his body savagely chopped and broken — scooting down the snow, falling over in a barrel of laughter and refusing to let anyone help him back on his board. (You could almost hear him muttering, ‘Piss off,’ under his breath.)

Damien is the classic alpha male, always a commando ‘in the beret that says he’s bulletproof’, an absolute army pin-up boy — despite the fact that this elite soldier left the battlefield on a stretcher and has given away his dreams of ever being deployed again.

What makes this story so compelling is its honesty and its inspirational outlook, in