Sen. Richard Blumenthal recognized military-trained doctors who treat western Connecticut combat veterans, in preparation for National Veterans of Foreign Wars Day.

Dr. Peter Costantino, an Air-Force-trained craniofacial surgeon, and Dr. Michael Kullman, an anesthesiologist who got his training in the U.S. Marine Corps were honored on Saturday.

When network news anchor Bob Woodruff was almost killed in Iraq in 2006 -- suffering a critical brain injury from an IED explosion, it was craniofacial surgeon Dr. Peter Costantino of Greenwich who helped to save his life.

Fifteen years later, Costantino is still treating people who have been critically injured in combat zones. He says those victims are always affected by their trauma, and often they “no longer feel whole.”

But working with colleagues like Dr. Kullman, they have dedicated their lives to helping American heroes restore that sense of wholeness through often groundbreaking medical treatment. 

The doctors, who work for Brain & Spine Surgeons of New York, say "nothing is more humbling than helping veterans reclaim their independence and sense of purpose."