As commemorative events took place across Colorado Springs on Friday, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office hosted a Purple Heart ceremony to honor a deputy who was injured in combat 10 years to the day after the 9/11 attacks.

On Sept. 11, 2011, then-Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ratai was seriously wounded during a combat operation in southern Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border, after enemy fire and a blast from a rocket-propelled grenade left him unconscious for several minutes.

Ratai, who was deployed with the 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment at the time, still suffers memory loss, debilitating headaches and other symptoms from his traumatic brain injury, but he considers himself fortunate to have survived, he said.

“There were wives who didn’t get their husbands back,” said Ratai, who joined the Sheriff’s Office eight years ago after medically retiring from the Army. “My heart breaks for them.”

Ratai’s military journey was unusual from the beginning. While most service members join in their late teens or early 20s, Ratai enlisted in the Army as a married 35-year-old with seven children.

“The reaction he got from his family was mixed,” said Kelly Ratai, Michael’s wife of 23 years. “We were all surprised. He just said he was going to talk to a recruiter one day. When he came home, he told us that he had joined.”

Michael said their children were at the forefront of his mind when he decided to enlist.

“I wanted to do my part to make the world just a little safer for them,” he said. “It felt good going in. It felt right.”

Michael deployed to Afghanistan with his unit in February 2011. During his deployment, his squadron faced daily exposure to enemy fire, improvised explosive devices, small-arms fire and concussive blasts.

After his ordeal (which included a second injury that required reconstructive shoulder surgery), Michael could have taken convalescent leave. The deployment was dangerous, resulting in nine casualties to his unit. But to him, leaving was never an option. He remained in Afghanistan with his unit until the scheduled conclusion of his deployment in January 2012.

“I just wanted to finish the mission with my battle buddies and make my family proud,” he said.

When Michael returned home, he initially had trouble readjusting to family life, and his wife often felt helpless as she watched him struggle, she said.

“The worst of his injuries didn’t show up on an MRI,” she said. “There’s something that happens to (a combat soldier’s) soul. For a long time, he was home, but he wasn’t really there. It’s a paralyzing feeling to know he needs help, but not to know how to help him.”

Aided by a supportive group of military spouses, Kelly waited patiently, making sure Michael knew she was there for him. In time, the “gentle giant” she married began to return.

“There isn’t a formula for it,” she said. “He brought ghosts back with him, and we just needed to be patient while they drifted away.”

After he retired from the Army as a staff sergeant, Michael joined the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

“I still wanted to serve, and I wanted to feel something like the camaraderie you feel in the military,” he said. “I found that with the Sheriff’s Office.”

After years of applying for Purple Heart recognition, Michael had almost given up when he received notification from the Department of the Army in July.

“I had to read (the email) four times before I believed it,” he said. “It blew my mind.”

Kelly said the award is a confirmation of what she has known for decades.

“This man has been a hero my entire life,” she said. “Now everyone else will know what I already knew.”

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