Immediately, Baskerville said, "I saw the difference, and I thought he was going to make it."

It probably didn't hurt that his battalion's sergeant major, Steve Brown, traveled up from Camp Lejeune and in his most respectful and intimidating Marine Corps tone told a doctor:

"Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. You can give Cpl. Hennagir clearance to go, or we can just come up here and get him. One way or another, he's going to be there."

Hennagir had been outside the hospital just a few times, once for a 20-minute spin around a courtyard on his 21st birthday.

But on Aug. 24, Hennagir, his fiancee, Jim and Donna and their daughter (also named Sherri) headed south in a wheelchair-accessible van provided by the Semper Fi Fund, a charity supported by Marine Corps families.

At dinner that night in Jacksonville, just outside Camp Lejeune, they stopped at Applebee's.

A stranger paid their bill.

Help for the future

He collected $100,000 in military disability insurance, and the government will give him, when he is ready, a one-time grant of $50,000 to buy or modify a home.

And Hennagir's platoon leader, First Lt. Patrick Cleary, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, sent a letter off to the platoon, their families, and almost everyone he knows. His goal is to create an annuity for Hennagir so he will receive an additional $30,000 a year for life, donated by individuals pledging $100 to $300 every year.

"The increased costs associated with virtually every aspect of Cpl. Hennagir's life present a formidable obstacle to this warrior's future," Cleary wrote in the letter.

A group of South Jersey veterans has planned a benefit Sept. 29 at American Legion Post 133 in Woodbury. The veterans have already sold more than $5,000 in raffle tickets.

Hennagir's sister Mia English works in the finance department of The Inquirer, and the newspaper's publisher has called Jim and promised to help.

The family is overwhelmed by such generosity, but Jim English knows Hennagir must also have meaningful work. To be a man, to feel like a man, he said, you have to provide for your family, to feel useful.

"I want him to have to get a job and take care of himself. I think the generosity is good, but he needs to become a full man again, even without his legs and his hand."

Hennagir said he couldn't agree more.

Resolute on war

Hennagir supported this war and still does: "The terrorists need to be stopped."

Jim also supports the war, and believes there has been progress. He believes that the Iraqis are rejecting the insurgents, and that there's hope for victory. "I do believe, given time, the armed forces can succeed," he said.