Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason Waterhouse lost his left eye and vision in his right when two rocket-propelled grenades were fired into a small room he was investigating on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Waterhouse, now 36, had been hit before and is missing fingers. He said he thought he was invincible until the day in 2005 he ended up legally blind.
On Wednesday, Waterhouse was water-skiing and riding a tandem bike piloted by his wife, Suzetta, on the first day of a weeklong camp for 13 soldiers with physical disabilities.
The week is made possible by Sacramento-based Disabled Sports USA Far West, a nonprofit group started by World War II veterans in 1967 to help Vietnam veterans.
The group, with chapters across the country, offers more than 200 days of activities for people with disabilities.
For their first day, the servicemen assembled on a dock to cheer on their "brothers in arms" as they succeeded in a modified form of water-skiing on Stillwater Ranch Lake in Sutter County.
The day looked and felt as summer should – with a big picnic spread, softball on the evening schedule, blue water and the sound of splashes as the skiers ended up as many first-timers inevitably do: face down in water.
Some of those present had been released from care at military hospitals to attend the camp.
Doug Pringle, a retired Army first lieutenant and president and chief executive officer of the group's Sacramento chapter, returned to California after Vietnam missing his right leg below the knee. Through Disabled Sports, World War II veterans taught him to ski on one leg.
"For me, (skiing) was pretty much the first thing I did after my injury," Pringle said. "It was the first time I thought to myself that maybe I was going to be all right. That started a positive thought cycle, and that's what we are trying to do for these guys out here today; they need to know they can still do stuff."
Pringle said that soldiers with major combat injuries often deal with issues of self-doubt and a general crisis of identity.
When camp participants approach Pringle with doubts about whether they can do activities like skiing or cycling, he responds with a knowing smile and a "you will."
On Wednesday, they did.
Matt Ceccato, 25, an Army sergeant and paratrooper from Sacramento, suffered nerve damage in August 2005 when he was shot in the legs outside of Hillah, Iraq, during a rescue mission where "everything went wrong."
"The hardest part of this is being 25 and not being able to do whatever you want to do," said Ceccato. "I'm having to readjust, and it is easier with this program."
Army Spc. E-4 Joe Gracia, 39, was injured in September 2007 when his Humvee ran over a bomb. He lost his right leg above the knee and suffered a severe head injury.
He has experienced the issues of self-doubt that Pringle described. His days are usually based around his physical therapy schedule.
"This week is such a nice break, I feel rejuvenated," said Gracia. "I'd never been on a hand cycle before, but now I'm thinking about going out and getting one."
Matt Strugar-Fritsch, communications coordinator with Disabled Sports, broke his back mountain biking five years ago and uses a wheelchair. He said that many of the camp participants exhibited the intense willingness and energy he would expect from a group of soldiers.
"I'm glad we could get everybody out here and get them focusing on what they can do instead of what they can't," said Strugar-Fritsch. "If you can teach someone to do something they thought was impossible, they are going to change."
Call The Bee's Rachael Bogert, (916) 321-1020.
