Vietnam Vet Encourages Disabled Athletes

By Charlie Karpowsky - 2007-10-11 - Article viewed 68 times. Find more articles like this in our Disabled Veterans category.

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He lost his leg while fighting in Vietnam. Now he motivates other amputees.

WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. - "I was hit by an IED (Improvised Explosive Devices - An improvised explosive device is normally of local manufacture and is often associated with booby traps. It has all the elements of a mass manufactured mine or booby trap.)," he says. "My driver and gunner were killed instantly."

Ryan Kules, a first lieutenant stationed at Ft. Riley in Kansas, was deployed to Iraq in February 2005. He was injured in November and later suffered a double amputation - right arm above the elbow and left leg above the knee.

"I actually flat-lined twice," says Kules.

But just three months after the explosion, Kules is skiing... yes, skiing.

"Like all the runs, that's way too much fun," he says after one trip down the mountain.

Kules and dozens of others vets hit America's slopes because of one determined man who's made it his mission to help the wounded.

He's Kirk Bauer, a Vietnam vet who talks the talk and walks the walk. Bauer lost a leg from a hand grenade during an ambush while serving in a combat unit in Vietnam in 1969. He endured seven operations and spent six months in the hospital.

During his service in Vietnam, Bauer was twice awarded the Bronze Star for heroism, as well as the Army Commendation Medal with Valor Device. He also was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained in combat.

"The most important thing is whatever it takes to get them out here, I'm going to make that happen," says Bauer. "And if it's because they believe what I tell them because I've been there, that's great. The important thing is they get out here and they do it."

Bauer takes his message right to the wounded.

"If you think this is difficult, it's a myth," he tells one group of disabled veterans. "It's easy. You can't imagine how easy it is."

As a member of the "Over 50 Gang," Bauer is active in skiing, running, biking, hiking, and swimming. In 1999, he successfully completed the Marine Corps Marathon, his first, and won the 2000 Boston Marathon, in the "Mobility Impaired" class.

"Really, this is part of a bigger process," says Bauer. "This is part of rebuilding these guys and gals lives."

With a growing number of wounded coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan, Bauer and his team are on target to spend more than $1 million this year on these programs. How does he pay for it? Mostly from donations from average Americans who send in $10, $20, $50.

Kirk Bauer is helping the wounded like Ryan Kules prove to themselves they're not only alive, they can still live a full life.

"Now that I'm here, I know I can get this far and there's still a long way to go," says Kules.

My name is Charlie, I first came to the bay area with friends in 1971, shortly after my return from Vietnam. I enjoyed some of the best times the city had to offer then.