Monthly Archives: December 2014

Sergeant First Class Dana Bowman, U.S. Army (ret) stopped into Angel Fire this past week to ski with his family. While there’s nothing particularly unusual about a man taking his kids skiing during the holidays, Sgt Bowman has another story to tell. He is a double amputee. A former Special Forces soldier and member of the Golden Knights, the fabled Army parachute demonstration team, Sgt Bowman lost both his legs in a parachuting accident in 1994.

Here is a photo of LTC Chuck Howe and me showing Dana around the New Mexico Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park, courtesy of the Sangre de Cristo Chronicle. Please note the UH-1 Huey lurking in the background!

Dana does not believe the simple loss of his legs should stop him from living his life. After his accident, he fought his way back into the Army, becoming the first double amputee able to re-enlist. After he retired, he attended college where he earned his bachelor’s degree and pilot’s license in fixed and rotary wing aircraft. Now he travels the country as a motivational speaker to spread his “incredible story of spirit and determination,” often parachuting into an event. He is quite a guy!

Enough from me, here’s Dana’s story and website. See for yourself: http://www.danabowman.com/

Dana believes, as I do, that we must band together to aid our wounded comrades. He was not in Angel Fire by accident. He was here to learn about the National Wellness and Healing Center and to visit the New Mexico Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park (both of which I have written about on this blog site). He held discussions with LTC Chuck Howe, U.S. Army (ret), president of both the Wellness Center and the David Westphall Foundation which helps run the Vietnam Memorial about a possible parachute jump into Angel Fire to kick off a veteran’s PTS retreat or a Memorial Day ceremony at the Memorial. Stay tuned for more updates on this!

Here is the link to the National Veterans Wellness and Healing Center:

http://veteranswellnessandhealing.org/