But this is less a story of past pain than of future promise. The pain has been real - 57 surgeries so far to repair a lot of damage - but while Majetich is physically scarred, he is mentally sound. He removed his prosthetic ears to illustrate the totality of his wounds. Earlier, Majetich, 41 - a veteran of both the Marines and the Army - didn't flinch from a handshake for which he offered a hand that was more like a nub.
It's that double-edged sword - physically wounded but mentally sound - that made him an ideal candidate for the Wall Street Warfighters Foundation (WSWF), which turns wounded warriors into financial-service professionals.
These veterans are the few of the few - the men and women returning from voluntary military service with permanent wounds in addition to their campaign ribbons.
I'm sitting at a conference table across from Majetich, who has an easy smile. He is flanked by Ben Downing, a Brooklyn native in his 30s who was an Army staff sergeant specializing in communications, and Cauldon Quinn, 38, an Annapolis graduate who was a logistics officer until 9/11, when he volunteered for a combat assignment in Afghanistan. Downing served in Iraq and has a torn-up right knee and lower-back problems. Quinn's issues include damage to both knees and torn ligaments in his left hand. He's had 13 surgeries.
To be admitted to Wall Street Warfighters, candidates must have a 30 percent or greater service-related injury suffered in a combat theater.
The nonprofit WSWF outfit is housed in the for-profit Drexel Hamilton, a Center City boutique broker-dealer founded by wounded vets and dealing with institutional accounts, "not mom-and-pop accounts," says Quinn, who came through WSWF and is now Drexel Hamilton's chief financial officer and a walking, talking testimonial for the program.
