These are the most recent in a series of injuries for L.J. since he joined the Army two years ago. L.J. is recovering in an Army hospital near his unit and is likely to return to “light duty,” according to his mother, Lisa.

While riding in a convoy on Dec. 5, L.J. felt an explosion.

“He was launched,” Lisa said. “There was a second explosion that burned the inside of his lungs and caused massive head trauma. He remembered climbing out and that his side hurt. In the helicopter he asked, ‘Where am I?’ He was taken to Germany.”

L.J. was treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest American hospital outside the United States. Doctors twice drained fluid that had accumulated between his skull and brain. They also treated him for first- and second-degree burns and had him inhale medicine to heal his lungs.

“Then they shipped him back to his unit,” Lisa said.

“He called us (Dec. 10) and said he would be going to the hospital near his unit.”

“He’s a tough kid,” said John Montelli, L.J.’s dad.

“When they feel there’s no more danger, he’ll be put back with his unit on light duty until he can be re-evaluated and put back on regular duty,” Lisa said. Light duty, she said, involves riding in the convoy vehicles rather than walking next to them.

In October, L.J. was clearing a house and busted through a second-story door only to find it had been booby trapped. He fell two stories, landed on his head and shoulders, suffered a concussion and compressed nerves.

“He couldn’t feel his legs, except for tingling,” Lisa said.

The Army wanted him to spend more time recovering, but L.J. asked to return to his unit.

Although worry is the Montellis’ constant companion, they are comforted by the knowledge that their son is living his dream.

“He always wanted to join the Army and be a police officer — he followed his dream,” said Lisa Montelli, a St. Helena Primary School  librarian.

L.J., 20, and his brother Tony, 18, come from a military family, Lisa Montelli noted. Their father John, a mechanic and driver for Rios Vineyard Management, served in the Army. Lisa’s mom was born at Mare Island. One of her grandfathers is a Pearl Harbor survivor; her other grandfather was a World War II bomber pilot. Now Tony is following his brother’s example by joining the Marine reserves.

It was only natural for the Montelli brothers to aspire to national service, she said.

L.J.’s leadership skills will be long remembered at St. Helena High School where he staged an unauthorized 9/11 memorial ceremony in 2003. L.J. and his friends defied then-principal Shari Cramer, displayed American flags and held a five-minute memorial in the quad. They sang the National Anthem with jazz choir members and followed it up with a moment of silence.

L.J. graduated and left in July 2005 for boot camp at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

The Montellis were stunned to learn during L.J.’s graduation from boot camp that their son had distinguished himself by earning the rank of E-2. Only two graduates out of thousands received rank on graduation.

L.J. was first sent to South Korea as a military policeman. He was assigned to a special forces unit that protected then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during a visit. Later, while leading a team clearing a building, a man clubbed L.J. in the head.

“He got a cracked eye socket, a skull fracture and a cracked cheek bone,” Lisa said.

After recovering, L.J. was assigned to shuttle back and forth between Korea and Iraq, as part of another elite group. In Iraq he was shot, suffering a flesh wound.

Last April after earning the rank of E-4 specialist, he began a two-year tour of duty in Iraq, where enemy fire penetrated his flak jacket, leaving him with another flesh wound.

In August, L.J. spent two weeks at home, where he received a wedding ring in the mail from the widow of a fellow soldier killed in Iraq.

“One of the guys — a sergeant — didn’t make it,” said Lisa. Before he died, the sergeant had told his wife to thank L.J., “because he saved a couple of guys in the platoon.” Lisa said L.J. was recognized by his unit for outmaneuvering the enemy during a firefight and spotting a trip wire.

When L.J. learned that his brother Tony had signed up for the Marine Reserves, L.J. signed up for a second tour of duty in Iraq. That protects Tony, who just became a father, from having to serve in Iraq, Lisa said.

During his two-week stay, L.J. explained how he feels about serving in Iraq.

I hate what I see, but I love what I’m doing because it’s making other people free and protecting you and Dad from having terror knock on your front door, L.J. told his mother.

Lisa said her son’s courage inspires her.

“He followed his dream, and that’s all you can want for your kid. He believes in what he’s doing, and he’s doing it for the right reasons. He inspires me. ... He was not afraid to break out on his own. It gives me strength to know my son is that courageous.”

Before he left home in August after his mid-tour break, L.J. left his own message with his parents. It is a videotape to be played “if anything happens.” Lisa said that’s a sign that L.J. is the kind of person who thinks of others first.

“You always hope you raised your kids the right way, and he always makes sure others are safe.”

Lisa said she and John are like all parents because they believe in supporting their kids in whatever path they choose.

“If our kid believes in something, and if he feels it’s the right thing, we’re behind him 110 percent. But we always reminded our kids that there are others who will be affected by their actions.”