(CNN) -- When J.R. Martinez returned from serving in Iraq, he never thought he'd see his name on the marquee at the local restaurant -- but there it was, a welcome-home banner at the Applebee's in Dalton, Georgia.





More than 40 percent of J.R. Martinez's body was burned in a land mine explosion in Iraq.





He certainly never imagined he'd be starring in a popular daytime soap opera, either.





But Martinez, 25, has never let the severe burns he received while serving in the United States Army stop him.





He spoke with CNN's Nicole Lapin about overcoming odds and being an inspiration for young people.  Watch Nicole Lapin interview J.R. Martinez »





The following is an edited transcript of the interview.





Nicole Lapin: You told your mom you'd come back in one piece. You're obviously back in one piece. You came back burned. What happened?





J.R. Martinez: Well, April 5, 2003, I was driving a Humvee through a city called Karbala in Iraq. My job in the military -- in the Army -- was infantry, and as we were driving, my front left tire hit a land mine and I was trapped inside the vehicle.





The other three guys, the other three soldiers walked away with minor injuries, which I'm thankful for every single day. I was trapped inside the vehicle for about ten minutes, conscious and can literally see my life slipping away from me. You know, my mother is my best friend and I kind of had the visual of my mother, and them handing her a flag and I thought to myself, that's not something I want to put my mother through.





So it's one of those things where we don't know how strong we are until we're faced with things in life and I got through it.





Lapin: You did. [A viewer] has a question for you about what kept you going. She says, "First of all, I want to sincerely say thank you for defending our freedom. My question is, during the time of the explosion, how did you keep yourself going?"





Martinez: Well, when I was a young child, one of my sisters passed away from an illness she was born with. She was born in Central America and I was born here in the United States and I never met her, but I always felt the connection throughout my whole childhood. I felt the connection with my sister and I was confused as to why.





And the day of my injury when I was inside the vehicle and I can literally see my life slipping away, an actual visual of my sister came to me and told me I was going to be OK and told me I'd be fine. And after that sweet whisper went away, they pulled me out of the vehicle and got me immediately into the medical team's hands.





So I guess you could say faith, my sister, my mother -- all the things that kind of kept me grounded as a young child that my mother instilled in me at a young age: to be strong and to hold on to certain things in life because they'll get you through.





Like I said, it's something that's hard to explain, but I know a lot of guys that have been injured in the military or people that have been injured outside the military in the civilian world. And I am just like, "How did you make it?" It's just like, we don't know, we just hang in there.





Lapin: You just do it.





Martinez: Yeah, you just do it. All of us had it inside us. We just don't know it until we're faced with it and that's when the true strength really shows.





Lapin: Well, you went through 32 surgeries over 34 months. Was there ever a time where you said, "Woe is me"?





Martinez: Yeah, I'm definitely human and there are a lot of bad days. Even being in the soap
What did he become after being injured? When was the soldier injured? Who was injured in a land mine? What country was the soldier injured in? what percentage of J.R. Martinez's body was burned? what was J.R. Martinez injured by? Who was injured in Iraq land mine?
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question: What did he become after being injured?, answer: starring in a popular daytime soap opera, | question: When was the soldier injured?, answer: April 5, 2003, | question: Who was injured in a land mine?, answer: J.R. Martinez | question: What country was the soldier injured in?, answer: in Iraq. | question: what percentage of J.R. Martinez's body was burned?, answer: More than 40 percent | question: what was J.R. Martinez injured by?, answer: land mine explosion | question: Who was injured in Iraq land mine?, answer: J.R. Martinez's