Once a near battlefield casualty, Fulton to receive Clemson degree

Jeff Fulton’s road to Clemson University was unlike that of any other College of Business graduate who will receive a diploma in August. In 2010, the then U.S. Army staff sergeant was centimeters away from taking a sniper’s bullet in the head while riding in a vehicle his unit used to remove landmines from roadways in Afghanistan, as part of the 323rd Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Brigade. “I guess you could call that a life-changing moment. The windshield’s bulletproof glass only allowed the lead into the third of the windshield’s four-layers, directly in front of my face,” said Fulton of Simpsonville. The harrowing experiences Fulton encountered during two tours of duty in Afghanistan took its toll on the 33-year-old management major. After his military service, Fulton was enrolled at Clemson part-time. But his past caught up with him. The same day he escaped the sniper’s bullet in a vehicle, Fulton took on sniper fire a second time while delivering munitions to an assault unit at the front lines. While toting the ammunition, a bullet whisked past Fulton’s head and sprayed dirt on his face when it hit the mountainside behind him. The Army Commendation Medal with ‘V’ device for Valor Medal he would receive for his actions that day wouldn’t fix the pain he was about to experience. Fulton was a classic victim of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).