St. Paul, Minn., Jun 23, 2009 / 19:06 pm
U.S. Army chaplain Fr. Tim Vakoc, who was severely injured five years ago by a roadside bomb in Iraq while returning from saying Mass with troops in Mosul, died on Sunday at the age of 49.
The attack destroyed his eye and caused severe brain damage, according to his CaringBridge website. He was hospitalized for four months at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and in October 2004 was transferred in a near coma state to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis.
After many surgeries and infections, he gradually began to recognize friends and family again. He also began to communicate through squeezing his hand or slightly smiling. In the fall of 2006 he spoke for the first time since his injury.
A native of Robbinsdale, Minnesota, Fr. Vakoc served as a parish priest before becoming an Army chaplain in 1996. He also served in Germany and Bosnia, eventually attaining the rank of Major.