This is Andrew from Iowa’s story…

"On December 13, 2025, in Palmyra, Syria, United States troops were ambushed on a routine patrol. During this attack, two American Soldiers and a US Civilian interpreter were killed in action, and three American Soldiers were injured.

Two of the injured soldiers were flown to a base for medical attention. Another soldier was treated on base for his injuries. The soldier who was treated on base was Sargent Andrew Henschel. Sargent Henschel, a medic, was injured while treating the other soldiers who were injured. Due to his bravery while under attack, he earned the Combat Action Badge and a Purple Heart. Governor Kim Reynolds pinned Sargent Henschel with his Purple Heart on base in Syria.

Sargent Henschel serves out of Des Moines, Iowa, in the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. He was deployed to the Inherent Resolve Mission in Syria from July 2025 to February 2026. Andrew was a 2016 graduate of Lake Mills High School.

He is currently back at home living with his parents waiting on VA benefits. His dreams for the future include going back to school for Pilots License, moving to Wyoming, and starting a family.

Why I've chosen to nominate Andrew:

I am hosting a 1,000 acts of kindnes challenge at Lake Mills Community Schools in Iowa & when Sam contacted me about helping him with his 50 veterans, 50 states, 50 days campaign - I knew this was the perfect opportunity to rally an entire community around changing someone's life. With over 700 students who will be a part of this day, we have a chance to do something extremely special for this veteran. Sargent Andrew Henschel went to this exact school, given his recent heroic actions saving 2 soldiers lives, he felt like the perfect candidate!"

-Timmy the Dreamer

Kindness Creator Samuel Weidenhofer is on a mission to ensure one veteran or veteran’s family in every US state never has to work again.

With over 15 million people behind him, this is more than a fundraiser. It’s a national movement to honour those who have served.

Every donation matters.

Every share helps change a life.

Samuel posted a fundraiser update