Wounded Iraq Vet A Can-Do Spirit Giant

Loses Both Legs In Battle, But Helps Inspire "Big Blue" All The Way To Super Bowl

(CBS)  When Lt. Col. Greg Gadson lost both legs to an improvised explosive device on a battlefield in Iraq in May, he had no way of knowing it was the beginning of an unlikely journey to a very different kind of battlefield --the site of the Super Bowl this Sunday.

As CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor reported on The Early Show Wednesday, Gadson became an inspirational leader of the New York Giants as they marched to their upcoming showdown with the New England Patriots.

He's even been named an honorary Giants captain -- and will be in Arizona Sunday, cheering on "Big Blue" as they try to keep the Patriots from an undefeated season.

Glor says many Giants players and fans see Gadson as the source of magic that took their team to this year's NFL pinnacle.

It began when the former West Point football player was wounded in Iraq. His old teammates rallied 'round him one-by-one as word spread.

Among them: Mike Sullivan, the Giant's wide receivers' coach.

Sensing Gadson's brave and courageous attitude, Sullivan asked him to address the team, which Gadson did the night before the season's third game, against the Washington Redskins.

The Giants had lost their first two contests, and appeared to be headed in the wrong direction, but pulled out game three in its late stages to begin their trail to the Super Bowl.

Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin awarded Gadson the ceremonial game ball.

What does he think of when he looks at it now, Glor asked him.

"This really kind of represents the beginning of the Giants' season," Gadson responded.

But his other team, Glor points out, is the 400-strong battalion of men and women he led in combat in Iraq.

When wounded, he says he "asked God -- I said, 'I don't want to die here in this country.' "

Gadson is the first to tell you he's not a hero, just a soldier doing his job, in Afghanistan, Operation Desert Storm, and Bosnia, "from a platoon leader, to a battery commander, to a battalion commander -- building a team," as Gadson put it.

The story about how a professional football team's hopes and dreams came to rest partially on Gadson's broad shoulders has its roots two decades ago, Glor notes, on the playing field at West Point. As the team's top defensive lineman, he played much larger than his five-foot-eleven-inch, 195-pound frame.

In 1988, when Gadson was a senior at the academy, his Army team played one game at Giants stadium. At the time, no one could have predicted that, almost 20 years later, his life would intersect with the Giants once again.

"When men devote their emotional input, and they put all of their energies into something that's greater than them, you forge a bond that will last a lifetime," Gadson told Glor.

After his injury in Iraq, one-by-one. his football brothers rallied around their fallen comrade. "It's incredible how, without hesitation, these guys have been there for me," Gadson marvels.

Within hours, Will Huff was at Gadson's side, from a Baghdad hospital all the way to Landstuhl, Germany. Chuck Schretzman was there after Gadson landed at Andrews Air Force Base.

And Mike Sullivan -- the Giants' receivers coach -- visited Gadson at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the Washington, D.C. area.

"Those bonds that you talk about almost go beyond words, beyond description," Glor remarked.

"They are," Gadson agreed.

[keiler1]

I take my hat off too you.... I spent 2 tours in Iraq and being a woman with kids it was very hard not knowing if my kids were ever going to see me again. But I am here now to show the pictures and share the stories on how easy they have it here. My heart goes out to him and hopefully this will inspire more people to be motivated.

[keithle1]

You and your God... Why do Christians assume that everyone else is a Christian?

HAVE A BLESSED DAY

[keithle1]

Does God exist?

[henrichmom]

Our soldiers and their families are so dedicated and make so many sacrifices every day. It is wonderful to see some positive attention being paid to these wonderful people. I have unlimited respect for our soldiers and for the strong women who emotionally support them and their children while their husbands are deployed. God bless them all.

[tireslinger]

Put very well, crzmeat...a truely remarkable man.

[Krazcarl]

A truely remarkable man.