DJ Radnovich

[tonyb71]

A local paper wrote published this article a couple of weeks ago as DJ was back in the area due to the unfortunate death of his father.  I thought many would enjoy reading this so I thought I would share it.

 

Posted: Wednesday, February 4, 2015 10:31 pm

Service despite challenges

 

PETE SWANSON Sports EditorTri-State Media  

Purple Heart honoree D.J. Radnovich works past dyslexia, injuries

 

In third grade he was diagnosed with dyslexia, a developmental reading disorder that according to Wikipedia is the most common learning difficulty, one that makes reading and comprehension difficult despite normal or above-average intelligence.

 

Yet D.J. Radnovich, best known locally as Indiana’s 215-pound wrestling champion as a 1998 Gibson Southern senior, has earned a bachelor degree from Indiana University, served on the Tulsa (Oklahoma) Police Department and in the Oklahoma National Guard, has done a tour in Afghanistan, and plans to pursue a doctorate in physical therapy.

 

He’s also a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient.

 

“A lot of people picked on me when I was in special education,” the 1998 Gibson County Male Athlete of the year reflected during a recent return to the county, a return brought by the Jan. 18 death of his father, Dennis Joseph Radnovich Sr., from a one-vehicle crash on Ind-68. Returning Jan. 20, he stayed 10 days to start his role as executor of his dad’s estate.

 

“But I’ve always wanted to help people. In school I protected everyone in special ed. I became a mediator and protector. And police officer became a natural fit for me because I want to help people — protect people who can’t protect themselves.”

 

Thirty-five-year-old Dennis Joseph Radnovich II, given the latter handle because dad and mom Peggy Radnovich didn’t want him to be called Junior, reaches out to people despite injuries suffered in a nine-month tour of duty in Afghanistan, where an explosive device that killed nearby soldiers gave him a broken nose, dislocated left shoulder, neck and back injuries and a traumatic brain injury.

 

“That happened my third day in Afghanistan, in an area where American soldiers hadn’t been for five years, but I stayed nine months because they needed me,” he said during an interview in the rural Somerville home of John Barnett, his Fort Branch Community School science teacher and Gibson Southern wrestling coach who “is like a big brother to me.

 

“John helped make me who I am today. I started wrestling in seventh grade after he talked mom into letting me go out for the sport. Wrestling taught me hard work and dedication and how to be a leader. It taught me how to push myself harder than anyone could push me”

 

Born in upstate Mishawaka, D.J. II and family, including brother and IUPUI psychiatrist Dr. Alexander Radnovich, lived in Bremen when as a third grader he learned that he was dyslexic. “It was very frustrating. I hated school. I didn’t want to go because I felt I was stupid and couldn’t learn.

 

“There wasn’t any real treatment, but we moved to Fort Branch and they made accommodations for me. They gave me extra time in testing and reading things to me. It was a process of sitting down and reading word for word.

 

“If I hear it, I’m okay. When I had to do a book assignment, I’d memorize it and recite it in front of the class. As a police officer I’ve typed reports in a highlight progression computer that speaks back what I’ve written. That tells me if I wrote it right.”

 

After becoming a state wrestling champion as a Gibson Southern senior, and in travel team wrestling winning two state championships each in freestyle and Greco-Roman, Radnovich wrestled at Lincoln (Ill.) Community College and placed third in the national junior college championships. He compiled a 3.85 grade-point average while earning an associate degree, wrestled one year at Oklahoma State before injuring a knee, transferred to Indiana University and suffered another knee injury, but earned a history of art degree with a 3.52 grade-point average.

 

“I tell people, ‘When you go to college, find something you enjoy,’” said Radnovich, who passed the test that qualified him to become a Division I strength coach.

 

“My interest in strength, and weightlifting, go back to when I was 11,” he said. “Dad and I were watching the movie Commando on TV one day. Arnold Schwarzenegger was marching with a tree on his shoulder. Dad said, ‘I’ll bet nobody messes with that guy.’

 

“I said, ‘Okay, I’ll lift weights.’ Tim McIntosh, then the Gibson Southern football coach, let me lift in the high school weight room. That led to my becoming the protector in special ed.”

 

Following his IU graduation, Radnovich took a job in Tulsa as a personal trainer and strength coach. “A police officer friend told me they had a vacancy in the department, so I applied and got hired.”

 

After three years he became a police department SWAT team member. “That’s a special operations team,” he said. “The elite of the elite. The team police call when they need help. I’m a tactical operator and breacher for the entry team.”

 

He joined the Oklahoma National Guard “to give to my country. I felt I could help with the knowledge I gained as a police officer and I wanted to be an infantryman. I was assigned to Afghanistan in June 2011 and stayed till March 2012.

 

“That traumatic incident the third day came when one of our vehicles ran over a bomb that was buried in the road. Five Americans were killed. I was 30 yards away. We had to recover parts of the vehicle. When I was 10 or 15 feet away, there was an explosion. Two Afghanistan Army soldiers were with me. One was killed instantly. The other died two minutes later. My injuries came when I was thrown and landed on my face.”

 

Sent to Fort Hood Army Base in Killeen, Tex., Radnovich was told he’d have to live with the pain. There’s quite a lot of pain. I’ll need a second shoulder surgery and a neck fusion. They want to do a back surgery with fusion and a disc replacement. The pain still gets pretty bad and I have migraines. They told me that’s as good as it’ll get.

 

“I wanted to go back to the police department and National Guard. They sent me to an Army Combative House, a training facility at Fort Hood. I became a specialized coach in wrestling. While I was coaching, they asked me to try out for the team, and I became a three-time Army champion for the combative team.

 

“I also became a Level 2 and Level 3 Army combative instructor. Coaching and instructing helps keep my mind off pain.”

 

In November 2012 he competed in the No-GiJiu-Jitsu Championships in Long Beach, Calif. “I won the ultra-heavyweight class and the open, which is all classes. Two world titles with the injuries I still have — I’ve always loved wrestling and I got back into it to make up for lost time.”

 

Returning to the Tulsa Police Dept. and Oklahoma National Guard, Radnovich became a defensive tactics instructor. “I teach police officers how to fight,” he said.

 

“Due to cognitive issues from my traumatic brain injury, I’ve occasionally had a problem thinking clearly and had a lot of issues filling out paperwork. But I love police work.”

 

Radnovich was assigned in January 2014 to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. “I’ll probably be there another six months or a year, until I’m medically retired due to my injuries. I’ll be retired as an active duty captain when the paperwork is completed. Then I’ll go back to school in Tulsa or at IUPUI, to get my doctorate in physical therapy. Now I’m taking classes at Alamo College. I’ve taken classes in Anatomy I, Anatomy II and Chemistry II. I must take Physics I and Physics II and take a test toward a physical therapy doctorate.“

 

Said John Barnett: “My wife Laurie and I used to have to listen to the old cliché of D.J. being a dumb, muscle headed jock. That would burn our rears because we knew him so much better. And he has proven he’s so much better.”

[TripleB]

Wow....just wow....what a great life DJ has lived. He was a great guy when I knew him in High School. 

[Jimtown 138]

Born in Mishawaka...

 

Great read!

[Jayruss]

But made his mark in the South