After an explosive device ripped through his Humvee in Fallujah, Iraq, five years ago, Sgt. Terrence “Shane’’ Burke lost half his left leg and barely escaped with his life.
Yesterday, the 33-year-old Marine stood before the crowd at Dorchester’s annual Memorial Day ceremony in Cedar Grove Cemetery as a man who not only survived his injuries but has thrived despite them.
Burke was an ambitious Boston police officer and avid runner when he went off to war. He is now a crime scene technician for the department. Wearing his prosthesis — and ignoring the plate in his left forearm and the screws in his right ankle — he runs as many 5K road races as he can without tearing his skin grafts.
