D. Hamilton Kinard has over 20 years of military experience including Active Duty & National Guard, and is a third generation service member.
Joining the US Army in November of 1989, Kinard followed in his father’s footsteps by wanting to serve to his country. His Grandfather, Charles Kinard, served in Civil Service during WWII at the Columbia Army Air Base in South Carolina. His father, Douglas Kinard, served in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) in Vietnam and was stationed out of Parris Island, South Carolina. It was only natural that Kinard join the Armed Services. Kinard served during the Cold War and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In June 2004, Kinard was deployed to Iraq with the 1st 178th F.A. In March of 2005, after being directly exposed to 13+ Improvised Explosive Device’s (IED) while serving in Iraq, Kinard’s unit took a direct hit by an IED. Kinard was left unconscious for 3 days at Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) in a make shift medical tent. When Kinard awoke, he was immediately diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury and Bi-lateral Hearing Loss. Kinard was ordered to continue his mission, and was given self-injectable immatrex for his migraines. Kinard did not arrive home until October 2005.
Since his arrival home, Kinard has been diagnosed with 43+ injuries including but not limited to: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obliterative Bronchiolitis due to inhalation of chemical fumes, Renal Failure Syndrome, cervical, thoracic, and lumbar neuritis & radiculopathy, and degenerative disc disease. Kinard was medically and honorably discharged in September of 2010.
Kinard married his wife Britnee in 2010, and they now have two boys (Blayne – age 5 and Maks – age 3). Kinard also has a service dog named Gunner. Gunner joined the Kinard family in June 2013, and serves as Kinard’s mobility service animal.
Kinard’s awards/medals include: Purple Heart, Combat Action Badge, Multiple Army Commendation Medals, Global War on Terrorism medal, and Operation Iraqi Freedom medal.
