44 March 2021
A long road to recovery lay ahead of him.
"I was completely peppered, head to toe," he said. "I was a mess."
With a laugh, he now describes himself as "a mixture between
Daredevil and 'Scent of a Woman,'" a reference to the Marvel comic
book character and to actor Al Pacino's movie role as a blind,
medically retired Army officer.
His life would be changed forever. He has said that while
lying in bed, recovering at the National Naval Medical Center in
Bethesda, Maryland, he felt overwhelmed with grief and fear. He had
responsibilities and a life to live.
"I do enjoy inspiring,
motivating people."
"I went through a lot," he said. "ey're still
pulling out pieces of fragments from my knee.
I'm not a Six Million Dollar Man; I'm like the
970 Million Dollar Man."
Yet, Castro gathered the courage to move
forward.
While others thought it improbable, he
returned to active duty aer 17 months of
recovery and rehabilitation. Castro retired
from the Army aer 28 years of service in
2016, a decade aer he was blinded.
"I'm very grateful for my leaders and the
men I served with," he said. "e soldiers were
great guys and still are. If it wasn't for them, I
wouldn't be sitting here right now.
"e Army is what I love the most. I love
the camaraderie. I love the teamwork. I love
to be part of history," he said. "I love to defend
freedom and democracy and liberty and
justice. … If I had my eyes, I'd still be in."
