Friday, August 7, 2009

This Guy is One Tough Parachutist!

One of the most exhilarating things I've ever done is a parachute jump with the U.S Army Golden Knights parachute display team (click here to read my blog story). These soldiers are true professionals, and excellent ambassadors for the Army.

Today, a former member of the Golden Knights, SFC Dana Bowman made a special parachute jump onto the grounds of Walter Reed Hospital. This is one of the Veterans Administration hospitals for our service people and veterans.

What makes Dana Bowman's jump even more significant than usual is that he lost both legs and his partner in a skydiving accident in 1994, when the two Golden Knights teammates collided in freefall at a combined speed of about 300mph. But within five months of his accident, Bowman went back up and made another jump. After the accident, he created a new career for himself as a motivational speaker, and he jumps regularly to demonstrate that the right mindset and attitude can overcome just about anything.

In case you're wondering about how SFC Bowman lands on two prosthetic legs, it seemed to me, watching the live coverage on Fox News this morning, that he lands on his butt!

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