Friends Honor Former Airborne Ranger Who Defied The Odds After Being Told He'd Never Walk Again

ONTARIO (CBS) — Sergio Machado served numerous tours of duty in Iraq.

After being burned over much of the right side of his body with 2nd and 3rd degree burns, the tough airborne ranger was told he would never walk again.

Though his ten year tour of duty, he also developed degenerative back problems. During physical therapy, he was told to touch his toes. "I couldn't, the pain was too excruciating."

He tells KCAL9's Louisa Hodge he also had to deal with the mental stress of his injuries -- and dealing with the loss of ten comrades from his platoon, all killed in a single helicopter crash.

Bedridden, he was told that if he didn't undergo delicate surgery, he would never walk again.

"You never outgrow the pain," he says, "you never get to the point where it's okay."

Not walking again was definitely not okay with Machado. He not only fought the odds by walking again, but he also opened up a martial arts academy five years after his surgery.

The school is named Team 3 Flight Academy in honor of his fallen comrades. .

"It's a tribute to them," he explains, "everything in the school has some sort of military symbolism. The colors yellow and black were the colors the rangers wore in World War II."

Machado's inspirational story definitely informs and charges his students. Phillip Cain lost over 100 pounds working out at the academy. "He's really given me my life back," explains Cain. "I'm more motivated, I'm more social."

Rather than put his painful memories on the shelf, Machado uses them to keep focused and positive. In addition to running the martial arts academy, he keeps busy with a new clothing line called Recon Flight Gear, to honor those who served. (Ten percent of his profits go to help families whose loved ones lost their lives serving our country.)

By telling his story, Machado is hoping not to be a nameless veteran in the decade-long war effort.

"People hear about troops passing away all the time and you hear people dying on the news, but nobody knows their names, nobody knows who they were, or what their story was."