Israel Del Toro

Israel Del Toro (born April 27, 1975) is an American motivational speaker and a retired senior master sergeant in the United States Air Force. After a Humvee in which he was travelling drove over an improvised explosive device, he suffered burns to 80 percent of his body, was badly disfigured, and fell into a coma for three months. Although his odds of survival were placed at 15 percent, he eventually recovered, and became the first airman to reenlist after being deemed 100 percent disabled. After his retirement from the Air Force, Del Toro became a motivational speaker.

Early life Israel "DT" Del Toro was born in Joliet, Illinois, on April 27, 1975. Del Toro lost both of his parents at a young age. When he was twelve, his father died of a heart attack, and at fourteen, his mother died in a collision with a drunk driver. Following the death of his parents, he began to raise his three younger siblings alongside his grandparents. In 1993, he graduated from Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, Illinois. Dissatisfied with a job at an ammonia plant, he decided to join the Air Force in 1997. He saw action in Bosnia in March 2001 and in the Iraq War, earning a Bronze Star Medal for his service.

On December 4, 2005, while on a mission to neutralize a high-value target, Del Toro's Humvee struck an improvised explosive device. While receiving medical attention, Del Toro successfully instructed a soldier to call for an airstrike in his stead. He was evacuated by helicopter to a field hospital. He won a gold medal in shot put at the 2016 Invictus Games and was subsequently selected to the World Class Athlete Program as a parathlete, allowing him to train in shot put ahead of the 2016 Summer Paralympics. He also instructed parachuting at the Air Force Academy, training cadets with the 98th Flying Training Squadron. He retired from the Air Force in 2019 as a senior master sergeant.

Personal life Del Toro is married to Carmen Del Toro; the two have a son also named Israel, who was three years old when the explosion occurred. He received the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 25th ESPY Awards. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois, and a fan of sports, especially field events. After his retirement from the Air Force, Del Toro became a motivational speaker. In 2022, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation gifted Del Toro and his family a smart home in Peyton, Colorado.