Last night, Sal Gonzalez took the stage of America’s Got Talent and wowed the judges and audience with his rendition of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.”
But Gonzalez had earned his applause before he even strummed the first chord.
Before singing, Gonzalez introduced himself as an Iraq war veteran, who had joined the U.S. Marine Corps after his high school graduation. “I’m the son of immigrants and this country is great,” he said. During the early months of his tour, his convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device, commonly known as an IED. The explosion caused him to lose his left leg below the knee.
“Having music as a tool for my recovery, I was able to put down and let go of a lot of pain,” Gonzalez said. “It kept me going. It kept me alive.”
Gonzalez now works for the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity that works to help injured veterans.
Watch his inspiring story:
