Sunday, April 01, 2007

Disabled Vets Expecting Miracles as Winter Sports Clinic Opens

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

April 1, 2007 – Some 450 disabled veterans converging here today -- about 100 of them wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan -- aren't looking for April Fools pranks. They're expecting miracles. The veterans are kicking off the 21st National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, six days jam-packed with activities designed to push them to new heights and enhance their rehabilitation.

Veterans of past clinics -- and the people who have watched them show themselves and the world what they can still do - refer to what happens here as "Miracles on the Mountainside."

Participants will learn Alpine and Nordic skiing and try their hands at rock climbing, scuba diving, trapshooting, snowmobiling, sled hockey, wheelchair fencing and other activities.

In doing so, they'll demonstrate that they're not about to let an amputation, spinal cord injury, visual impairment or other severe disability get in the way of a full, productive life.

Among this year's returnees is 28-year-old
Marine Corps veteran David Vidana, already a walking miracle.

Vidana was shot in the head by a sniper in Baghdad in April 2003. He was considered dead for a full 12 hours before his caregivers were able to detect a faint pulse. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's medical correspondent, happened to be embedded with Vidana's unit at the time, and performed the surgery that saved his life. "I know it's a miracle that I'm alive," Vidana said.

His recovery has been miraculous as well. Just one year after teetering on the brink of death, he came to his first winter sports clinic here. "I didn't think I was going to be able to walk, and then a year later, I was snowboarding!" he said.

Bradley Barton, national commander of Disabled American Veterans, which cosponsors the program with the Department of Veterans Affairs, said experiences like Vidana's are common during the winter sports clinic.

"It is truly a miracle to see the transformation take place on the mountain as these men and women push themselves to the limit and rehabilitate both body and mind," he said.

Veterans Affairs Sewcretary Jim Nicholson shared Barton's assessment, calling the participants' courage and determination "examples for us all."

Participants range in age from their late teens to their 80s and served in every conflict since World War II. All receive care from a VA health-care facility.

They understand each other in a special way, and it's that bond as much as the thrills and gratification they get here that keeps many coming back, year after year.

"At previous clinics, I met other Marines from other conflicts with different types of injuries, who shared great insight and perspective," Vidana said as he anticipated this week's clinic. "It helps with meeting people who understand your injury."

Faoa "Ap" Apineru, a
Marine who suffered a traumatic brain injury when an improvised explosive device exploded nearby during a road-clearing mission in Iraq in May 2005, is attending his first winter sports clinic and looks forward to that interaction.

"I think it's positive to share something positive and social with other veterans," said Apineru, who was medically retired as a staff sergeant.

"The reason the clinic is important starts with camaraderie," he said. "Events like this boost morale and give us an idea that there truly are people out there who care for us."

Army veteran Joseph Hineman, at 84, is among the oldest participants in this year's clinic, but knows he has a lot to share with younger and more recently disabled veterans.

After surviving the Battle of the Bulge, Hineman was hit by shrapnel from a German mortar in October 1944 while his unit was trying to capture the bridge at Ramagan over the Rhine River. He lost his left leg above the knee.

He said he looks forward to sharing his insights and his positive philosophy with the younger veterans he meets here.

"We share a generational bond, because even through I'm much older, I can identify with them psychologically and physiologically because of our similar injuries," he said.

Article sponsored by
criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military authors.

April begins with Memoirs and Fiction

Editor's Note: One of the authors is former military

Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Leading off the April 2007 additions to the site are two police officers who have written their memoirs as cops; and, one who has written a work of fiction.

In August of 1940,
James N. Reaves was sworn in as a police officer for the Philadelphia Police Department. At that time, he was one of the very few African American’s on the department. Writing about Reaves’ book, Black Cops, his publisher said, “There was a swearing in ceremony at City Hall with lots of smiles, handshakes, & photographs, but then Reaves had to report to his new street sergeant, a man who was, of course, White. The sergeant glanced at Reaves coldly, gave him a quick scan up & down, & then said something for which Reaves would never forgive him. "My God," the sergeant hissed, "it gets worse." Reaves shook off the insult & persevered through a remarkable forty-year police career. From walking a beat to protect businesses that wouldn't serve Blacks--while other cops rode in the comfort of White-only patrol cars--to the upper echelons of the department as Philadelphia's first Black police captain, James Reaves saw it all, & now he is going on the record with his story.”

RJ Rice was a police officer for the Philadelphia Police Department for 28 years. His book, I Do Solemnly Swear, is a collection of individual stories about actual events from his career. Speaking about his book, Rice said, “It demonstrates how quickly a quiet moment can turn into a life and death struggle and how police officers must decide in a heart - beat what actions to take. Their decision may define the rest of their careers and their lives as well as the lives of the public they serve.”

Robert Yantorno is a police sergeant with the Narberth Borough Police Department (Pennsylvania). In 1980, after his military service, Robert Yantorno began his law enforcement career. His law enforcement career was briefly interrupted between 1983 and 1985 when he fought as a professional boxer. He is a motor officer, currently assigned as a patrol sergeant. According to his book, Brutal Mercies, explores “the secretive world of the police force and the intimate relationships that lie beneath are exposed as the reader finds themselves entrenched in a world of fear, pain, pride and despair.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 435 police officers (representing 191 police departments) and their 915 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written
books.