20,000 Cheer While Marine Michael Boucher Honored at Braves Game

It happened during the sixth inning.

Lance Cpl. Michael Boucher of Bogart proudly walked onto Turner Field Sunday to the cheers of a stadium full of Atlanta Braves fans, showing the Marine their appreciation for his service as .

Michael's story, submitted to the Operation Homefront Georgia, was heard by all:

In March 2011 I headed out for my second deployment to Afghanistan, this time with 1/5.  I was heading to the Sangin Valley. We had been told this was the most kinetic place with Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), which meant as a combat engineer I would be extremely busy. I successfully swept a path finding no IED’s or gear. On the way back down the same path I stepped on a pressure plate I must have missed the first time. I heard a loud booming noise and was lifted into the air along with a lot of dirt and debris. It was then that I realized I had lost both of my legs below my knee.

Fox 5 Atlanta was there to capture the moment.  Watch a video of the interview with Michael.

The Braves, in cooperation with Operation Homefront Georgia, honor a service member at all Sunday home games each season.  Michael was nominated by his high school baseball coach, Dwayne Sapp of .

The Braves pulled off a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend.

Don’t miss any Oconee news. Subscribe to Oconee Patch’s free newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.