List of his injuries:
On December 22, 2004,
[3] Marine Sgt. Ziegel and six other marines were part of a convoy coming back to Al Asad Air Base from
al-Qaim in northwestern Iraq, when a
suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near their truck.
[2]
Ziegel survived but suffered serious injuries. His left arm was later amputated below the elbow, three fingers of his right hand were lost and, in place of the thumb, a big toe was transplanted. Ziegel became blind in one eye, and his ears, nose, and lips were burnt off. He also had shrapnel in his skull and a hole in the bone above the brow.
[2][3] For future use, part of Ziegel's skull was implanted into the fatty tissues of the upper part of his body and an artificial plate was placed in its stead. Ziegel also lost his
tear duct; it was replaced by a prosthesis.
[2] Some parts of the face that were lost failed to recover, even after more than 30 surgeries.
On October 7, 2006, shortly after discharge from the hospital, Ziegel married Renée Kline, whom he met before being sent to Iraq. Their wedding was widely reported by the press in the United States, and their marriage day was declared a holiday in Illinois.
[2] The wedding was attended by the American photographer
Nina Berman who took a series of shots, one of which won first prize among portraits on
World Press Photo.
[4]
A year after the wedding, Ziegel and Kline divorced. The reasons for the divorce,
according to them, was Kline's inability to accept Ziegel's disfigurement 
, and her old flame from when Ziegel was deployed.
[2]
