Military Olympians

Wounded Veterans Fulfill Dreams at Paralympics

She already received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for serving her country. Now, Melissa Stockwell is hoping to add one more award:

A Gold Medal.

After qualifying for the U.S. swim team back in April, Stockwell was the first Iraq War veteran selected for the Paralympics, a global competition for athletes with disabilities that will take place immediately after the Olympic Games in Beijing. At the U.S. Paralympics Open Swimming Championships, she set an American record of 5 minutes, 3.08 seconds in the 400-meter freestyle.

"When I found out I had a chance to go to the games and represent my country, I had to take it," she said. "I went to Iraq in an Army uniform and I am very honored to go to Beijing and wear a different kind of uniform: Team USA. I couldn't be more proud."

Stockwell, 27, will compete in the 100-meter butterfly and the 50-, 100- and 400-meter freestyle events when the games begin on Sept. 6, 2008.

The Impossible Dream

As a young gymnast, Stockwell dreamed of competing in the Olympics. She never knew that one day she would wind up on Team USA or as a trailblazing swimmer in the Paralympics.

On April 13, 2004, while on patrol in Baghdad in an unarmored Humvee, a roadside bomb exploded into the vehicle, throwing it into a guardrail. The resulting injuries cost Stockwell her leg.

"It didn't register that my leg was gone. I just saw blood on my leg. So I said, 'I'm hurt. Something happened to my leg. I think I'm hurt,'" she recalled.

The Army first lieutenant's injury required 15 operations and nine months of treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Doctors fitted Stockwell with a titanium prosthesis so she could walk.

It took her months to get used to her new body, making her way through Walter Reed's corridors at first by wheelchair, then on crutches and finally with the aid of her new prosthetic leg.

Stockwell later added swimming to her regime and trained furiously in a sport in which many top athletes have competed for years or even decades. After leaving Walter Reed, Lake Michigan served as Stockwell's training ground.

"Swimming was easy for me to do and it was most convenient," she said. "I didn't need to wear a prosthetic limb or other heavy equipment. I've done more without a leg than I ever did with two."

While swimming at Walter Reed, she met John Register, associate director of outreach development for the U.S. Paralympics Team and who is also an amputee. Register told Stockwell about opportunities for the Paralympics.

"As soon as I heard about it, I knew I was going to do it," Stockwell said.

"Making the Paralympics team was a great goal," Register said, "but the benefits of playing sports go far beyond competition."

Competing in Beijing

Stockwell and about 20 other swimmers will compete in preliminary races at the games. The top eight finishers will advance to the finals later in the day. Time isn't kept in the finals, but the top three finishers will be awarded medals.

"Making it back to finals would be a huge achievement for me and I am confident I will make it," Stockwell said. "That is goal number one. Although, I am proud just to make it this far."

Operation Rebound

It was also at Walter Reed that Stockwell met representatives from Operation Rebound and the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). Operation Rebound encourages active duty service members and veterans to lead an active lifestyle by providing them with athletic opportunities.

Stockwell joined Operation Rebound in 2005 and a few months later traveled to San Diego to compete in her first triathlon.

"Operation Rebound provides financial support to Melissa, and other active duty service members and veterans to help them go further in sports than they ever thought they could," said Operation Rebound Program Manager Nico Marcolongo. "It is a morale booster, part of their healing process and something for them to focus on."

Service members and veterans can receive grants from Operation Rebound several times a year for any event in which they wish to participate. Corporations such as TriWest Healthcare Alliance and individuals fund Operation Rebound and CAF, Marcolongo said.

Aiming for Gold

In addition to Stockwell, Operation Rebound has several athletes that are dreaming of Gold medals in the Paralympics, including Oscar Sanchez of San Diego in hand cycling and Scott Winkler of Grovetown, Ga. in shot put and javelin. Last year, Winkler set a world record in shot put.

"It's pretty exciting to see Operation Rebound athletes out there, competing," Marcolongo said.

Follow the progress of Stockwell, Sanchez, Winkler and the other athletes online at www.paralympicsport.tv.

Life After Paralympics

Once the curtain closes on this year's Paralympics, Stockwell will reunite with her husband, Dick – also an Army officer. She will take the next three months off to visit family and friends, speak publically about her story and compete in more triathlons and marathons, and just kick back for some much needed relaxation.

"I live a great life, I have no regrets and don't want to go back to what was before," she said. "This happened for a reason, and it really doesn't matter if I have a leg or not. I can still do whatever I want to do."