Wounded veteran to deliver inspirational message through comedy at AF Ball

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. David Dobrydney
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Those who attend the Air Force Ball here September 21 will have the pleasure of hearing the comedy stylings of Bobby Henline.

"You can expect the housing market to crash when I arrive," Henline joked from his home in San Antonio.

In all seriousness however, Henline is no ordinary comedian, but a former soldier who found a new life in stand-up comedy after surviving a brutal bombing in Iraq.

"I basically share my story of what it was like for me as a servicemember ... what happened to me and how I got into everything I'm doing today," Henline said. "I didn't expect any of it."

Henline was serving with the 82nd Airborne Division on April 7, 2007, when his Humvee was struck by a roadside bomb. Four other soldiers traveling in the vehicle were killed and Henline spent six months in a hospital recovering from his burns.

"I didn't think I'd be able to do anything after my accident," Henline recalled, but in 2009 fate intervened. He made a friendly bet with his therapist to try stand-up comedy and found he had a talent for it. Since then, the self-titled "Well-done Comedian" has appeared in comedy clubs across the country and on television including the "Today" show.

Henline is looking forward to telling his story to the Grand Forks AFB audience.

"It's all about living life to the fullest and taking advantage of the freedom that's been provided to us," he said, adding that his biggest message is based in the words of Dwight D. Eisenhower: "Do what you can with what you have where you are at."

"Humor is a wonderful medicine," Henline said. "Keep laughing, there's always a bright side to everything."