
PALO ALTO, Calif. — An Army sergeant who struggled for nearly two years to recover from a head injury sustained in Iraq died when his brain swelled after surgery.
The plight of Sgt. Frank Sandoval, 27, moved people in at least three states who followed his recovery at the Veterans Administration hospital in Palo Alto. Sandoval died on June 18 after surgeons implanted a prosthesis to replace a part of his skull, according to the Defense Department.
Sandoval, of Yuma, Ariz., joined the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He was on his second tour in Iraq when a bomb left him badly wounded on Nov. 28, 2005. After he was airlifted to...