COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., - Throughout my time here, I have heard no shortage of intriguing and inspiring stories from the athletes competing in the Warrior Games.
However, each story is unique in its own way.
On May 12, I had a scheduled interview with Brandon Longe of the New Jersey Army National Guard. At first glance, Longe looks as if he should be competing in the actual Olympics, and not the Warrior Games. He’s average height, but definitely wears his Army muscle proudly.
Because he had no prosthesis, no limp, no scars, I had to ask him what his injury was. He explained that over the 15 months of his first of two tours in Iraq, he began to experience minor pain and numbness in his left arm and hand.
“I thought it was just from carrying around heavy equipment, so I just tried to push through it and be strong, he said.
Later on, after he could no longer “push through it,” Longe said he was told that the C-5, C-6, and C-7 disk in his neck were all but gone and that’s why he was experiencing so much numbness.
When Longe was rehabilitating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., he saw signs for the Warrior Games, so then he applied to be part of the U.S. Army team.
“On March 17th, I found out that I had been selected to compete as part of the [seated] volleyball team and the Ultimate Champion competition,” Longe said. “It’s a gift and an honor just to be selected.”
As I was speaking to Longe, he kept repeating how much fun he was having and how he loves the military. A true patriot!
I would assume that the average everyday person may be a little bitter if they’d lost feeling in their body due to explosions while deployed, and I don’t think most would blame them. But Longe embodies what a true patriot is; sacrificing his body for his country and as I learned later on in the interview, he’s willing to continue that sacrifice.
“I joined the National Guard when I was 17 and I fully plan on staying in until they kick me out,” Longe said. “I have always loved the military, and I will continue to serve as long as I can.”
I continue to hear this from these brave men and women who are here at the Warrior Games. Instead of getting out due to the injuries they’ve sustained, most are fighting to stay in. They are truly remarkable people.
While Longe wants to stay in the National Guard for as long as he possibly can, he’s also making plans for the future as a backup plan.
“I’m attending Penn State University and I’m majoring in literary arts and science,” Lange said.
At the end of the interview I asked Lange how he got through the tough times when he was injured and he told me, “The future is always going to get better. You just have to put one foot in front of the other and never give up.”