BRUNSWICK

The Brunswick American Legion Post 20 will be holding a dinner and dance, open to the public, with proceeds benefiting the Travis Mills Foundation. The event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 5-9 p.m.

The Travis Mills Foundation is a nonprofit organization helping veterans with traumatic injuries of limb loss or who utilize a wheelchair.

On April 10, 2012, Staff Sgt. Travis Mills was on patrol with the 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan when he lost portions of both arms and both legs in an improvised explosive device detonation.

Mills remains only one of five soldiers known to have survived such extensive injuries in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

In September 2013, Mills began the foundation to benefit injured veterans. The current mission of the foundation is now under construction in Rome, Maine — a large retreat center where injured veterans and their families can stay and learn just how full and vital their lives still are.

“I’m very thankful for people getting behind us,” Mills said Monday, standing in front of the massive retreat structure that will be open next year.

The retreat idea came from someone overhearing Mills in conversation, talking about learning how to snowboard, then downhill mountain bike, then kayak.

Funds were raised to the tune of $500,000 the first year. Last year, they raised $1 million and they hope to top that this year. Mills said they’ve had amazing results with a bare-bones marketing budget and volunteer help.

The retreat will hold 35 to 40 people, including the families of the veterans, because as Mills said the families are going through the journey as well. They hope to serve 10 families a week and during the first year, they plan to operate five or six weeks during the summer to work out the bugs.

From there, they plan to run the retreat for the full summer.

“Don’t live life on the sidelines — make sure you know you can still kayak, you can still canoe, you can still go fishing. We show them adaptably how to do things,” Mills said of the camp, saying he hopes the veterans will be able to network with others going through similar struggles.

Mills wants to encourage friendships through the retreat, like that of his friend, Bo, who as a Navy SEAL lost both his legs and is currently on a bear hunting trip.

“He’s going to come to my house, hopefully two or three days afterward and his wife and my wife talk all the time and they live in Montana,” Mills said. “Just building that network, letting them know they’re not alone and feel comfortable with who you are and make sure you know life goes on.”

Asked if his injuries ever get him down, Mills quickly responds “no,” that it’s all a matter of perspective.

“For me, I have very close friends that I’ve had to load into helicopters and body bags — bodies just basically like lumpy soup. They don’t have the opportunity to still be here and I have friends that died that left behind their wives and their kids and they don’t have the ability to do what I do,” Mills said.

It’s those simple things that Mills takes in every day, from kayaking with his 4-year-old daughter — dog swimming alongside, to spending a meal with his wife.

“The doctors that worked on me — there was nine doctors and seven nurses that pumped air in and out of my lungs to make sure that I stayed alive,” Mills said. “They could easily have just loosened the tourniquet for 30 seconds and I would have died. So, I’m not selfish about it. I just keep pushing forward and I have a really good life.”

Mills’ official occupation is as an inspirational speaker, and it’s easy to see why. He will be on the road about 150 days, telling his story and having fun with it.

“I’m not a sob story. I don’t like people to pity me. I just tell a motivational, inspirational message where people walk away saying — ‘I didn’t know it was going to be so funny,’ and they just have a good time with it,” Mills said.

The dinner will be held at 1 Columbus Drive, Brunswick, with music provided by the Volunteer Jazz Band for dancing. Tickets are $10 with all proceeds going to the Travis Mills Foundation retreat.