The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
One year later: Montanges focused on the future
PUBLISHED: September 11, 2008
Chelsea's Ron Montange is a tough guy.
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As he walks out behind the counter of his "Go Brew" coffeeshop in Stockbridge, he reaches out his hand and offers a firm handshake. His smile is that of an old friend.
Ron opens up a menu and offers his guest plenty of choices. He then opens up his heart and offers his guest a look inside what his family has been going through since his son Mike was seriously injured in Iraq last August.
Mike was serving his third tour of duty in Iraq when the Humvee he was riding in hit an improvised explosive device. He suffered serious injuries to his leg, hip and spinal cord.
After months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., he was transferred to the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Va.
As tough as Ron is and as strong as he appears, there are moments when emotion wins out. His voice will crack for a moment. Words will be tough to find. Tears will begin to show.
It happens when he stops briefly to realize that this is his son we are talking about. His boy that has been to hell and back, even if Mike doesn't see it that way.
Ron likes to talk about how tough Mike is and how "he's just looking ahead and looking forward to getting on with his life."
But sometimes Ron reverts to being a dad and feels his son's pain, even though he knows he can't imagine what Mike has gone through and is still going through.
That might be the hardest part of all this. The one-year anniversary of this attack on his son has come and gone, but Mike hasn't gone anywhere.
He's still fighting. Still coping. And still looking forward to "getting on with the rest of his life."
Mike, 29, was a staff sergeant in his 11th year in the Army. He had just re-enlisted to make it an even 20 years only a month before the incident.
Mike has now gone through 45 surgeries, with more still to come.
"He's going to lose his left leg," Ron says. "We knew this might happen so it's not a surprise. There is always a risk of infection so it's been tough. But Mike has been amazing."
Ron and his wife Nancy have visited Mike this summer and report that his spirits are still high.
"He e-mails me almost every day and sometimes several times a day," Ron says. "We talk on the phone all the time. He wants to get a place up north on a lake when he finally gets out. That's his dream now. And there is no reason why he can't do that."
Ron said Mike is a hit at the VA Med Center.
"He's the practical joker," Ron says, shaking his head and smiling. "He keeps the nurses and doctors on their toes. He gets around on a flat cart and drives with a joystick. He likes that he can get out of his room and have some fun."
Mike's spirits really got a lift when the Army changed his brother Jeff's orders and sent him to nearby Fort Belvoir in Virginia in order to help with his brother's recovery.
Jeff, who had been stationed in Alaska, was scheduled for another tour of Iraq earlier this year, but Ron and Nancy's perseverance paid off.
"We owe a lot to Rep. Tim Walberg," Ron said. "He won't take any credit, but he helped make this happen. And we are grateful. We knew Jeff being there would be a great help to Mike and his recovery. And that's exactly what's happened.
"Jeff spends two days a week with Mike and also visits with his family on the weekends. Mike really looks forward to them coming. And it helps Nancy and I knowing that Jeff is around to help him."
Not only has Jeff helped Mike in his recovery, but the brothers recently launched their own business.
"Mike and Jeff have launched a Web site for stock investors called Investment Nation.biz," Ron said. "They have been working on this since Jeff moved to Virginia with his family this past February. It's really a good idea and they know what they're doing."
The new business is based on Mike's philosophy of looking forward.
"Mike doesn't look back," Ron says. "He only talks about the future and how he's going to live his life and what he wants to do. He's very good on computers and is working on college courses on the Internet.
"The system is in place to help wounded soldiers financially. There are a lot of forms and there is a process to go through, but the process does exist and not everyone knows about it. Mike will be taken care of financially for the rest of his life but don't think he's going to be sitting around. He's not that type of kid."
Ron said Mike's unit recently returned from Iraq and many friends have stopped by to visit their "hero."
"They named a study hall building in Baghdad after Mike," Ron said, those emotions seeping out for a brief moment. "That tells you what they think of him."
Mike faces another six months in the hospital and then rehab will follow.
"Mike didn't shed a tear when they told him he might have to lose his leg," Ron said. "When he calls me or Nancy, he doesn't talk about what's going on with him. He wants to know about the shop and the family and the weather.
"Mike never had any fears growing up. He doesn't have any now. He's doing what he needs to do to get out of there and get on with his life. That's what he's focused on now."
Mike, who has two young children (April, 6; and Chase, 4), attended Chelsea High School through his junior year. Then he was home-schooled the final semester of his senior year so he could graduate sooner and join the Army when he was just 17 years old.
One day recently Mike received a special visitor. It was a U.S. Navy admiral. Before he left he asked Mike if there was anything he could get him or anything he wanted. Mike said a model of a submarine would be cool to have.
"He likes to build things," Ron said. "So he thought a model of a sub would be a cool thing to build."
A few days later a model of the USS Massachusetts, one of the Navy's latest high-tech submarines, was brought into his room.
"The guy who brought it in said it was from the admiral," Ron says. "They took the cover off and there was a finished scale model of the submarine under glass. He said there are only three of these in existence. One goes to the contractor who built it, one goes to the captain of the sub and one goes to you."
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