Ty Ziegel

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Ty and Renee Ziegel's prize winning wedding photo by Nina Berman

Ty Ziegel (born in 1982) is a United States Marine Corps Sergeant who was seriously injured while serving in Iraq. During his second tour in Iraq in 2004, his group was attacked by a suicide bomber. Mr. Ziegel had been trapped in a burning truck, the heat melted the flesh from his face. He sustained massive injuries, but survived. After returning to the United States, he spent 18 months in Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas.

His injuries led to the loss of his left forearm and of three fingers of his right hand, and Ty was rendered blind in his right eye. He also sustained widespread severe burns that led to the loss of his ears and much of the tissue on his face. ^[1]His shattered skull was replaced by a plastic dome, and a face was constructed more or less from scratch with salvaged tissue, holes left where his ears and nose had been. ^[2] Despite the range and severity of his injuries, and after over 50 operations,^[3] Ty had recovered enough to leave the hospital.

Ty married his girlfriend Renee Kline in 2006. They lived together in Illinois up until their separation. Nina Berman's wedding portrait of Ty and Renee, "Wounded Marine Returns Home to Wed," won the World Press Photo competition for portraiture in 2007.^[4] The World Press Photo competition is widely regarded as the most prestigious international award for photojournalism.^[5]

CNN’s “Waging War on the VA" (Nov 17, 2007) reported that Ty and Renee separated shortly before their first wedding anniversary.[1]