Jaco van Gass, born in South Africa on August 20, 1986, moved to the UK at age 20 to join the British Armed Forces. He completed his training in mid-2007 and became a member of the Parachute Regiment. During his second deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, he sustained severe injuries from a rocket-propelled grenade, resulting in the loss of his lower left arm, punctured internal organs, a collapsed lung, shrapnel and blast wounds, and leg fractures.