Major Ed Pulido, U.S. Army (Ret.) is the Sr. VP of the Folds of Honor Foundation a Veteran’s charity which provides the spouses and children of the fallen and wounded educational scholarships.
Additionally, he is a Founding member of Warriors for Freedom Foundation a leadership institute focused on the mental, physical and wellness support of our wounded Veterans and their families. Finally, Major Ed is the Founder of Warrior Nation, a movement focused on the rights of liberty, freedom and patriotism with an autobiography entitled Warrior for Freedom: Challenge, Triumph and Change, The Major Ed Pulido Story.
On the 17th of August, 2004, Major Pulido hit an Improvised Explosive Device (I.E.D) or roadside bomb while serving with the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team under the command of General David Petraeus. Due to the extensive injuries to his left knee, doctors had to amputate his left leg on October 1, 2004.
For his heroism and valor on that August day, the President of the United States along with General David Petraeus awarded him the Bronze Star with Valor, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, and Joint Service Commendation and Achievement Medals.
Major Pulido’s story of courage and sacrifice has been featured in Time Magazine, PGA Magazine, Fox News, CNN and many national and local Oklahoma City television stations and print media. Since, his amputation, Major Pulido has been a staunch advocate for veterans with disabilities, specifically focusing on advocacy efforts to promote prosthetic technologies, peer visiting with fellow amputees at Brooke and Walter Reed Medical Centers, and raising awareness on the needs of veterans with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injuries (T.B.I) on behalf of the DOD and VA Real Warriors National Campaign.
He has received countless awards including the prestigious Disabled American Veteran of the Year Award, HeartLines Festival of Hope Award for Suicide Prevention, the Hero’s award from the American Red Cross, the Reaching our City Award, OKC Thunder/Devon Energy Community Hero Award, and the Daughters of the American Revolution Veteran Patient Award. Additionally, he has received the Valley Forge Freedom Foundation Award for national and state level service and the Tuskahoma Brown Miller Award for outstanding leadership.
On a personal note, Major Pulido during his time in the hospital experienced the inner darkness of depression, PTSD, and suicidal ideation that would cripple his positive spirit. This inner darkness he describes as a “deep wounding of a soldiers spirit”. It was at that time that he understood that as a Warrior he could not walk alone in this journey. In that moment, he asked for help from his God, Country, his family and the American people. The result of this intervention would put his life on the road to recovery. It would also be the building block for his understanding the inner wounds of war and making sure that mental health is a focus of the Department of Defense and the VA.
Major Pulido is a national and global spokesperson for the DOD and VA Real Warriors National Campaign and he is on the State Board of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services with a mission to address the mental health needs of returning service members, Veterans and their families.
Ed Pulido has been married to Karen Pulido for 21 years. He has a daughter Kaitlin and a daughter Kinsley. He and his family reside in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Major Pulido has a degree in Military Science, Marketing, and Criminal Justice and a Masters Degree in Logistics Management/ Human Relations. He attained the Rank of Major in his 19-year military career and on May 16, 2005, he was medically retired from the United States Army.
Based upon a true story, Major Ed recounts a life-changing incident in the life of Ed Pulido, a 19-year veteran with the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve 75th Division. On August 17, 2004, Pulido, known for his patriotism and love for the military, was struck by a roadside bomb in the Iraq desert and seriously injured.The 36-year-old Hispanic officer was faced with multiple hard decisions throughout his long ordeal, including 17 operations, unclear support and miscommunication from his own division, numerous hospital stays, rehabilitative sessions, a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and finally, among the toughest battles of all – whether to stay in his beloved military or become a medically discharged veteran.
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