A true hero with a passion for hunting enjoyed some Carbon County hospitality during his quest for a white tail deer last week.

U.S. Army Sgt. Eric Edmundson of New Bern, N.C., enjoyed a full week of hunting the rolling hills on the properties of Dr. Ben Houser and Brad Christman and his wife, Dr. Angela Houser of Mahoning Township.As a member of C Troop, 4/14 CAV, 172nd Stryker Brigade, Eric was seriously injured in a roadside bombing in Iraq in October 2005. He received shrapnel wounds to the right leg and abdomen, fractured two vertebrae and his right leg.While awaiting transport to Germany, Eric went into cardiac arrest. Because of the time needed to revive Eric and lack of oxygen to his brain, he sustained an anoxic brain injury, a life-threatening injury that can cause cognitive problems and disabilities.His father said the bomb that caused the blast was triggered by a cell phone.The hunting expedition came about when Dr. Stephanie Caterson, who is also Dr. Houser's daughter, met Eric at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass., where she and her husband E.J. are physicians. During Eric's rehabilitation, the Catersons and Eric became great friends.When Stephanie heard how much Eric enjoyed hunting, she and her family offered him the opportunity to do it locally. Country Inn and Suites in Franklin Township, offered free handicapped accessible accommodations for the week.While Eric wasn't able to bag a deer during his hunting expedition, he left with some fine memories of Carbon County.The Carbon visit was actually just one segment of a 95-day hunting tour that has taken him from the swamps of Florida to the mountains of Idaho and the plains of Missouri. During his travels he has hunted for alligators, bison, elk, prong horn deer, bagging a total of 10 trophy animals.In his quest of a Pennsylvania white tail, Eric sat in a sling seat inside a customized quad utility vehicle, with his father, Ed, at the wheel. With his hunting rifle mounted to the hood, Eric used a custom scope to focus on his target. If a deer entered his sights he was ready to fire with his thigh.Ed said Eric has been hunting since he was 5 years old."My son joined the Army with the understanding that he would be stationed in Alaska so he could hunt," said Ed. "He loves to hunt and fish and with the Wounded Warrior program, he has been able to hold onto his dreams."Ed said the family has met many wonderful people through the Wounded Warrior program."Our family is so grateful for the Wounded Warrior people. We couldn't do it without their support," he said.After being wounded in Iraq, Eric made incredible even miraculous progress at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. He began walking with assistance and regained the ability to eat and drink. As part of recreational therapy he went fishing on Lake Michigan and gained his voice with a Dynavox communication device.In June 2007, Eric walked out of RIC to greet his 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Gracie; his wife, Stephanie, and returned to New Bern. Later that year they were presented with keys to their new home in New Bern, built by Homes for Our Troops.Gracie is now 7 and the couple have also added a 1-year old son, Hunter.Eric is also quite a photographer."He loved to go duck hunting and would sit still for 20 minutes to get the perfect photograph," Ed said.While in Iraq, Eric captured the images of soldiers, scenery and people of Iraq on camera. Shortly after his injury, a number of photographs were discovered in his camera all taken by him.The pictures were used in a traveling exhibit, the opening of which was held at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass.His pictures now have homes in several prestigious locations, including the Pentagon and the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington D.C.