J.R. Martinez wins 'Dancing with the Stars' 2011

J.R. Martinez Wins 'Dancing With the Stars' 2011

Make no mistake about it, the dance floor belonged to the troops on Nov. 22's emotional, surprising season 13 finale of 'Dancing With the Stars.' J.R. Martinez, the Iraq war veteran and actor, capped off a solid season on the dance floor with a victory that will likely make his just as much of a household name. 'Thank you, America, for believing in us,' he gushed after being announced winner. Turning to his partner, dancer Karina Smirnoff, he added, 'You are amazing, and I'm so glad I could be a part of your first mirror ball.'

Last night's Dancing With the Stars finale was a little like being on a roller coaster ride. There were only three couples remaining in the ABC dancing competition but there were more than three methods for tallying the results so first one couple was in the lead, then another couple and then a third.

The 2-hour event also had the distinction of witnessing Dancing With the Stars first same-sex dancing when former Queer Eye fashion guru Carson Kressley performed Madonna's "Vogue" and danced with Val Chmerkovskiy, Anna Trebunskaya and other members of the Dancing With the Stars Troupe.

So which of the Dancing With the Stars Season Thirteen finalists took home the mirrorball? Find out here.

J.R Martinez, who was crowned the new champion of "Dancing With the Stars" Tuesday night, in one of the closest and most thrilling finales ever, admits that the suspense before the show unveiled the winner was killing him.

"I said to Karina … 'Can they just tell us already?' It seemed like the moment was just lasting forever when they were building up the suspense," the actor and war hero said today on "Good Morning America." "It's amazing. We've all been putting over three months of work into this. To be able to hold that [mirror ball trophy] up was a tremendous honor."

It was also the first win for Martinez's professional partner, Karina Smirnoff. "I think I was screaming so loud, I lost my voice. It is an amazing feeling," she said today on "GMA," "and what a person to share it with."

Martinez, who survived an IED explosion while serving in Iraq that burned 40 percent of his body, danced his heart out against finalists Rob Kardashian and Ricki Lake in the two-night finale. Lake, who was leading the pack after the first round of dances, surprisingly failed to advance to the top two, taking third place.