A soldier with North Dakota ties who was seriously injured in Afghan-istan last month is recovering as an outpatient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Keith L. Kingsley, of Athol, Mass., originally from the Deering-Glenburn area, said of his son, Andy, "Now Andy is over the first small hill and starting up the next hill."
He said his son will be fitted for the first prosthetics this week.
"Andy will get fitted numerous times as he gains weight and muscle," Keith Kingsley said in an e-mail to The Minot Daily News.
"Andy has walked around the therapy room twice on crutches, and twice with a walker, which is 400 feet," Keith Kingsley said.
Spc. Andy Kingsley, a field artilleryman with the 82nd Airborne Divison out of Fort Bragg, N.C., was seriously injured when he and his battle buddies were at an offsite location from Camp Salermo, which is their camp about 50 miles from the Afghanistan-Pakinstan border.
They were on an isolated hill giving help to the surrounding area when the Taliban sent a couple rounds at their site and Andy was hit when he was the last one getting into their bunker, his father said. He said seven others were injured but Andy was the worst. Andy lost his right leg above the knee and suffered other injuries, his father said.
Andy's relatives in Minot include his grandmother, Annie Kingsley, and his aunt, Sandi Thomas. He attended his junior year of high school at Fargo South and joined the Army after graduating from high school in Athol. He went to Afghanistan Jan. 2.
His wife, Devin, and their 6-month-old son, Nixon, live at Fort Bragg.
Andy's Facebook page is providing information about his progress, his father said.
Fundraisers are being planned for Andy Kingsley in Athol and donations can be sent to: Athol Credit Union, 513 Main St., Athol, Mass. 01331.
Letters or cards to Andy can be sent to: Andy K. Kingsley Water Reed AMC, Attn: Mologne House Room 211, 9600 Georgia Ave., Washington, DC 20807.