BOWDOIN — They met at the Brunswick Walmart, when she worked in customer service and he in tire and lube. After the couple moved to his home state of Georgia, it wasn't surprising that James Armstrong joined the Army Reserve. His dad was career Army. His brother is in his seventh tour overseas with the National Guard.

James had been in Fort Hood, Texas, for two days, waiting to be shipped out to Iraq, when he was shot, twice.

He's been recognized as one of the heroes of Nov. 5, when Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly opened fire on the base. Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of murder.

James was reaching down to grab someone when he was shot clean through the knee. Another bullet grazed his back. He removed his shirt and pressed it against a woman bleeding from the stomach. That was Combat Lifesaver training kicking in, James said.

His wife, Roxanne, who grew up in Lewiston, flew to be at his side the next day. For the past three weeks, they've dealt with doctors and paperwork, and have had countless people reach out to offer help. Roxanne learned last Thursday that James had gotten the OK to come home to her in Maine.

In their rented house in the Bowdoin woods, he's set on healing and enjoying his wife and sons, Gage, 5, and Gavin, 2. Roxanne, sitting on a couch with her husband Wednesday, said she hasn't let herself linger too long on "what if?"

"You have these moments; you get caught up in what could have happened," she said. "We're thankful he's still here."

Though they lived in Milledgeville, Ga., Roxanne had already decided to wait out James' deployment in Maine, close to her family. A mental health specialist with the 1908th Medical Detachment, Combat Stress Control, James had volunteered for this first tour.

"I'd rather know when I'm going than not know when I'm going," said James, 26.

They'd already said their goodbyes when he left for Fort Hood.

That notorious day on the base, James had just had his eyes and hearing checked and was waiting to get a physical when the shooting started. The shot through his leg missed bone and artery. A second bullet left a 3" graze on his lower back.

Because of the ongoing legal case, he can't talk about what he saw that day or what he heard, except to say that it was "amazing" to see everyone come together in the aftermath. In interviews with her local media, his mother shared the story of James blotting the wounded woman's stomach and using his body as a shield to protect others

If the day comes, he'll testify at a trial, if asked.

"Really, I want (Hasan) to get all the prosecution he can get," James said. "I think it's good that he lived — that way justice can be served."

James is able to walk around now, a little stiffly, without crutches. He's on leave for 30 days. After that, he'll begin physical therapy for two to three months. Then, he'll be paired with another unit and possibly deployed to Afghanistan.

"I don't know if it's kind of cheesy; we've always found ourselves to be pretty lucky," he said. "When times are tough, everyone just comes out of the woodwork to do stuff."

Family helped watch the boys, helped Roxanne move, helped with plane tickets.

"It could have been so much worse," she said. "We're definitely thankful it wasn't so much worse."

kskelton@sunjournal.com