Latest / OneLegUpAlex Media / One Leg Up 7-22-24 - Even Superman Had to Adapt and My Conversation With Double Amputee Para-Trooper Dana Bowman

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One Leg Up 7-22-24 - Even Superman Had to Adapt and My Conversation With Double Amputee Para-Trooper Dana Bowman · OneLegUpAlex Media

0:02
Here's your host, Alex Garrett. It's the Americans with Disabilities Act Anniversary week
0:10
and all week long. I want to highlight on this podcast. Different guests
0:14
will replace some great guests, but the number one guest I'll replay obviously is
0:21
Dana Bowman, and I'll shoot you some information about Dana. But he's a
0:27
double imputee paratrooper who lost his legs in a training accident, and he is
0:38
persevered through that. He's still paratroops with prosthetics on has multiple different kinds of
0:43
prosthetics. So I want to get to that interview with Dana Bowman during this
0:48
EIGHTYA anniversary week on the Alex Garrett podcast Network. But first I want to
0:55
also highlight an organization because people think of Christopher even they think of Superman.
1:02
But as I was hearing John Williams's version last night, you know his theme
1:06
song for Superman. I could know, but think Christopher Reeve himself had to
1:12
adapt after what was a falling office horse, I believe, and he became
1:19
severely paralyzed on May twenty seventh, nineteen ninety five. But how he became
1:26
super in a very human way was that he not only adapted to his disability,
1:34
but he made a cause out of it. He made the Christopher Reeve
1:38
Foundation out of that tragic accident. He did not lay down and sit down
1:47
and say, you know, this is my kryptonite. Right. He got
1:51
back up and he continued to be that superman even from a power chair.
1:57
And then his work and his legacy can continues through the Christopher Reeve Foundation.
2:01
So I will ceci Will Reeve on this. I will also link you the
2:10
website for the Christopher Reeve Foundation, who is a big foundation to help people
2:16
adapt to their disabilities, to their needs and continue being super and saving so
2:29
many lives as the superman Christopher Reeve once did on the silver screen. Without
2:37
further ado, here is Dana Bowman, my first real idol and hero in
2:45
the mputee community. I'm so honoredy enjoying my podcast. His tagline is It's
2:51
not the disability, It's the ability. That line courtesy of Dana Bowman,
2:55
who isn't afraid of anything, who is in I believe, a double parashooter
3:00
paratrooper who's been doing this for years. Dana, you and I first met
3:06
at Mitchell Field for the Games were physically challenged, where you jumped in at
3:10
least two three times in consecutive years, and your name came to mind.
3:15
Actually when someone nominated me as a top athlete whatever, you know, because
3:20
I was doing all that of stuff, I thought of you because you're one
3:23
of the biggest best athletes I know. So Data Bowman. For those who
3:27
may not know you, tell tell my listeners your story. Thanks for joining
3:30
me this morning. Well, I appreciate it, and you know, it's
3:35
been a long road, and what's really neat about it is going out there
3:39
and still shoot, move and communicate. That's what I did in the United
3:46
States Military. I was well spent time in United States Military, working with
3:53
the Army, Navy, Air Forces, in the Coast Guard. So I
3:59
got my years in now and I'm done retired, but I still worked for
4:03
the United States Military, and kind of back it up a little bit.
4:06
I started as an engineer in the United States Military, a heavy equipment operator,
4:12
started Fort Leonderwood, Missouri, lost in the woods, and then I
4:18
ont Fort Lewis, Washington, where it was my first duty station and it
4:24
was just beautiful up there, had a great time, great unit. And
4:29
then I upgraded my leg status, which meaning I was not airborne at the
4:35
time, not jumping out of planes or anything like that. Had no clue
4:39
about airborne. So they sent me out to Fort Benning. From there and
4:45
then off to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, at the home of the Airborne.
4:49
I had a great time. I was stationed in the A second Airborne
4:54
three h seventh Engineers for three years. Spent my first combat which is a
5:00
little mission that we had in Grenada in nineteen eighty three. After I spent
5:10
my three years with the A second Airborne, I decided to up my goals
5:14
a little bit and I joined the Green Breys, the Special Forces, which
5:19
was pretty awesome. So now I had a red Beret and then I had
5:24
a Green Bray and I've loved the United States Military Special Forces. They sent
5:30
me to Panama, South America, and I spent ten years there Peru,
5:35
Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador, stopping drugs coming back into America, a lot
5:44
of foreign internal defense missions and working with some great troops. Had some opportunities
5:50
to work with the NSIA, the CIADIA, all these different agencies coming together,
5:58
and you know, I said, helping our country out. So that
6:01
was my first or my second stint in the United States Military. As I
6:08
stayed in the United States Military, continued in the Special Forces, went to
6:15
Ranger School, Halo's School, High Altitude, lo Opening School, Snipers School,
6:24
just great, and then I continued to upgrade and believe or not,
6:28
I joined the Army's parishing team, the Gold Knights. Gold Knights are based
6:34
in Fort brag North Carolina, at the home of the Airborne and they consist
6:39
of eighty four men and women. They make up the different military occupational skills
6:44
known to me and you as jobs, and they're goodwill ambassadors. They're kind
6:49
of like being the United States Armies elite parishing team. Like the different services
7:00
have Blue Angels, the Thunderbird and the Air Demonstration Teams. So I got
7:04
to work with all these teams and travel around, jump into air shows and
7:12
represent the United States Army. And then in nineteen ninety four, you have
7:16
this tragic accident happened. Take us through that moment, and then life after
7:23
was never going to be the same, was it? Oh No, not
7:27
at all. On the Gold Knights on Repairshon team, I was in the
7:31
Winter Train up where we go once a year and we bring the teams together
7:39
and we perfect our skydiving skills, and we do all kinds of different demonstrations,
7:45
air demonstrations, jumping out of planes and landing on these little tuffets and
7:50
targets so that you know you can be a represented and show them the United
7:56
States military. We we did this maneuver called the demanding Diamond track, which
8:05
entails two jumpers to exit aircraft at way around thirteen thousand feet. They fly
8:11
away from each other, and they fly back towards each other. So your
8:16
objective on this diamond track is to make this red etched out diamond in the
8:24
sky starting at thirteen thousand feet, meaning one guy jumps out of the plane,
8:31
goes the opposite direction and has smoke trailing from your ankles. So now
8:37
you're on the ground and you're watching this, and you see these two bomb
8:41
bursts, one going to the left, one going to the right. They
8:46
fly away from each other in about three dozen eight attitude, about seventy five
8:52
hundred feet above the ground. They turn around one hundred and eighty degrees,
8:56
and then they fly back towards each other. Now, remember you're going you're
9:00
still coming down, and you're getting further and further away from each other.
9:03
Then you turn around, you come back towards each other, so you finish
9:07
the top half the diamond, and then you come back and you're supposed to
9:13
cross at altitude of thirty five to forty five onred feet above the ground and
9:16
then open your parachutes up, come down and land well on the bottom half
9:22
of this diamond track. February sixth, nineteen ninety four, about ten thirty
9:28
in the morning. Myself my partner has just formed our sixth jump of that
9:37
morning, and this was our last one. We're going to get a break
9:41
and we we're done for that weekend. We got closer and closer and faster
9:48
and faster, and we gain speeds up right around three hundreds an hour on
9:54
the cross on the past. Believe it or not, my partner got a
10:00
a little too close. I seen him coming on me, but you could
10:03
not change direction, and my partner went to put both arms out to fear
10:09
off to move away, and believe or not, his arm clipped both my
10:15
legs and I had both my legs were cut off in mid air. Now
10:18
here's the great and that is one in the same part. I didn't realize
10:22
your partner also died almost on impact. From when I read in the bio.
10:28
So I guess a couple questions. Firstly, do you ever suffer a
10:33
case of survivor syndrome in addition to still missing your legs? Or how were
10:37
you able to recover from all of this trauma and really still do this because
10:43
I know you still parachute to this day. So what was the first couple
10:46
of years like and getting back into it, you know, self pity,
10:52
bitterness, depression, Sure, I mean, you get all that. I
10:56
mean, I just had the best thing that I've ever done in the United
11:00
States Military. The military all was going down the train, like you know,
11:07
when you lose your legs, you're a different person. You're now disabled,
11:13
You're you're a person that jumped out of planes and did all these things
11:20
in the United States military. I love the military. And then it was
11:24
you've got to leave the military. You've got to take your disability and we
11:31
don't need to know more. And you know you're not You're not worth anything.
11:37
And these were the things that were thrown at me. I didn't want
11:41
that. I had no clue about disabilities I had. I couldn't even say
11:46
the word of prosthesis or prosthetics or I had no there was nobody there to
11:54
walk up to me and say, I'm gonna double amput, I'm a single
12:00
empathy, or I've lost this. This is what's happened. Oh my god,
12:03
that you're gonna be fine, You're gonna do great. It was the
12:07
doctor saying, you're not gonna be the same for the rest of your life.
12:11
You're and it was like very depressing. I'm like, I need some
12:16
motivation. I just lost my best friend, I lost both my legs.
12:22
How the heck is somebody gonna come in there and just boost me up.
12:26
I'm usually the guy boots some people up, you know, and I just,
12:31
you know, I put my hand up. I don't want to hear
12:33
this again, and I so I started looking, you know. Obviously I
12:37
had to rehab. I went to the funeral seven days later. I was
12:43
in Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, d C. For about five
12:46
or six months. I just had to continue and not give up. There
12:54
was a lot of doubt in the United States military and I was still in
12:58
the military, and so I was on medical hold, and believe or not,
13:05
five months after my accident, I snucked down the hospital and I went
13:09
back to Fort bag North Carolina, and I made a parachute jump my first
13:13
time with my theesis and I came back to the hospital that Monday, and
13:22
it freaked everybody out because I told them what I was going to do,
13:26
and they didn't take me seriously. You know, they said, well,
13:28
what are you doing? You need a pass for the weekend. I said,
13:31
yes, it's about that five month mark, you know, which I
13:35
was about going crazy in the hospital, and you know, I wanted to
13:39
get and do something. And so there was a wed jump of a former
13:43
Golden Night that was there, and they kept coaxing me down, saying,
13:48
come on, come on down, you can jump out. You know,
13:52
we can make this together. And sure enough I went down there. I
13:54
did it, and believe or not, that jump with the video and the
13:58
pictures of that when I came back to hospital, showed them that I could
14:03
still do this and I could do it safely, I believe it or not.
14:09
Nine months after my tragedy triumph arose, I became the first double empty
14:13
randless fact United States Military in front of God and country. I parachuted back
14:20
in with the gold Knights Main Post pray filled for Bragg, North Carolina at
14:24
the home in the airport. They gave me a chance to come back and
14:30
I did well. That is amazing. By the way, North Carolina seems
14:33
to be the home of some really amazing comeback stories. You sort of were
14:37
like Michael Jordan, right, you went undercover going to North Carolina to go
14:41
back and do it. Remember Jordan actually rehabbed his knee down there UNC so
14:46
I could see in North Carolina there's a lot of spirit there and certainly you
14:50
have that. So you started doing this more and more, and then you
14:54
end about the Games for the physically Challenged, which is where I met you
14:58
in NASA, CA in New York Ata. You really inspired a lot of
15:01
the kids that day. I don't know if you know that enough, but
15:03
when you jumped in, there was a lot of excitement, uh from the
15:07
kids that that's how you jump in. You know. That was one of
15:11
my highlights of being able to give back, and especially to the physically challenged.
15:20
You know, because we all have some type of disability, believe or
15:22
not, you really think about it, not like that's what my motto is.
15:26
It's not the disability, it's the ability. I love it, so
15:33
yes, I do remember that that incredible jump up there for all those kids
15:39
and all the participants of the games up there. And I really I tell
15:46
that story all the time because it was a little unique in New York and
15:52
in between JFKA and Lake Mordia and bringing a helicopter down for a parachute drop.
16:00
But just was a normal helicopter. I mean, this helicopter came from
16:06
East East Hampton and it was a black Hawk helicopter. It was a military
16:11
helicopter. And not everybody gets a jump out of a you know, black
16:18
Hawk helicopter. And obviously being retired now leaving the military, you have to
16:26
have some type of credentials. And you know, obviously my credentials still weighed
16:32
on and helped that out. But this helicopter team that came down there was
16:37
I mentioned East Hampton and it was the Search and Rescue squadron up there.
16:45
And I don't know if you remember the movie The Perfect Storm, No,
16:49
I do not. There there was a helicopter and they were out. There
16:55
was just a there was a perfect storm and they went out. This helicopter
16:59
went out and save life option And you would not believe in the critical time
17:06
that they fly in these horrible storms to save people's life and ships out in
17:14
the ocean. Well, the same helicopter, believe not crashed. And if
17:19
you have seen that movie, you know that the main pilot died because he
17:26
drowned in this helicopter. But this was the same helicopter. There's the same
17:34
crew that flew out there to pick me up to jump me in for the
17:41
games. And I just thought it was pretty awesome to meet those guys and
17:47
you know, be the only guy in this huge black Hawk helicopter to jump
17:51
in for the games. And I mean that's patriotism, you know, to
17:56
bring the American flag in, to be a double empty into have the freedom
18:00
that you are even having your disability, and people believe in you. You
18:06
know, because of what I did in the United States military by being the
18:08
first double empathy to realist second Army, it changed the mindset of the United
18:14
States military. And that was the same time that they started changing saying Okay,
18:18
do you have a disability, Do you want to stay or do you
18:22
want to go? It did not matter. They knew that it was time
18:27
for us to have people with disabilities. And you know, because there's something
18:36
for all of us, we can we might, you know, I might
18:41
jump out of a plane differently than you would if you had two arms and
18:45
two legs. Guess what I have over four thousand jumps. Now I have
18:49
thirty two parachutes. And let me tell you. When I left the United
18:53
States Military, I went to college and I got my aeronautics degree. I
19:00
became the first double ft helicopter instructor in the world. So I flew airplanes,
19:06
steamplanes, helicopters, hot air balloons. I did it all. It
19:10
became an instructor, and you know, you could do anything, and you
19:15
have to tell people and show people, you know, you people with disabilities
19:19
always have to, you know, surprise people, show them that you can
19:23
do this safely. You know, I would say, we got to smash
19:27
stigmas almost every day of our lives, you know what I mean, and
19:30
show that we can have the ability. Now I'm done with Dana Bowman.
19:33
You can actually find him out at Danabowman dot com. And he's just not
19:38
he's not just jumping with as WMPT. He's putting more into it into the
19:44
community as the Halo for Freedom Warrior Foundation. So let's go to today.
19:48
We've been in this massive lockdown, quarantine, and so I gotta I gotta
19:55
ask if people come to you saying, yeah, I'm not I'm feeling down
19:57
about all this, how are you lifting people up during this time where we're
20:02
uplift is so needed right now, you know, obviously being from I live
20:08
in Texas outside of Fort Worth. I'm in Weatherford, Texas. And yeah,
20:14
they have the masks going on around Texas, and I'm gonna tell you
20:21
we're about thick of it. We want to get moving, all right.
20:26
I've already been to about eight different states for the last few months, parachuting
20:32
into rodeos, golf events, special events, especially for the kids. It's
20:42
you can't give up. Sure, it's a tough time, but you know,
20:47
we might be a little bit different than where you're at up in New
20:49
York or in the surrounding areas. The guys do not like it here in
20:56
Texas. We we are wanting to get back to work, and they are
21:02
We are wanting to get our kids back to school. And they are right,
21:06
because you can't parachute in a zoom call, right, Dana. So
21:08
that's right. Yeah, I've done some zoom conferences in the last few months.
21:15
Yeah, It's what a big change. You know, my kids are
21:18
both in college now. I have twin girls and they're twenty years old.
21:22
And yes, they do not like staying on the internet. You know,
21:26
they want to be hands on. This is America. We can get over
21:30
this. Guys gals. You know the elections are coming up right around the
21:36
corner. We need to take our country back. And I don't know if
21:41
you want to go there. I don't know if you want to go there.
21:42
I'm glad you did because when you mentioned Fort Bragg in this day and
21:48
age, now we're saying that's not a name that you'd be on a fort.
21:51
Are we kidding ourselves? Like, I mean, you should write a
21:53
letter saying, don't remove this. Look at the good that Fort Bragg did
21:56
for me. I don't know if you want to do that. Orenough,
22:00
It's true. They're good stories that happened, and the names are now being
22:03
removed. I can't understand the data. It's our history, you know,
22:07
Look what our forefathers have done for us. We wouldn't have the freedom that
22:12
we have right now if it wouldn't be for what our guys and gals.
22:17
Look at our Vietnam veterans. I mean, they fought, they got spat
22:22
on, they had a horrible time, and I you know, I try
22:26
to do as much as I can do, especially for our Vietnam veterans.
22:29
And you know what, they're all dying because they have Asian Orange and they're
22:33
more Korean War veterans alive now, you know, and they were before Vietnam.
22:40
We can't forget about our guys and what they've done, and that's why
22:44
they have these statues and these stories of our forefathers. And sure there were
22:48
slavery, I mean that's part of the history, you know. But you
22:53
know what, we're being torn apart with the black and the white. I'm
22:57
getting ready to go to Fort Irwin to go do a presentation and I have
23:02
to do it on racialism, and I have to do it, which is
23:04
ridiculous. I mean, why can't we all just get along. It's ridiculous.
23:11
We have to take our country back, you know, we have to
23:15
be unity. I mean, we're a proud US country and we're looking like
23:25
Venezuela. We're looking like all these other countries that are just killing and tearing
23:30
their country's part Antifa terrorist terrorists and don't think that they're not folks. I'm
23:38
a Republican, I'm a Democrat. I'm undecided. We have to get our
23:44
country back. If we don't, we're at a turning point right now,
23:48
there will be a civil war, there will be tearing up, we will
23:53
be like Venezuela. It's going to be ugly. We got to stop this.
24:00
I don't think that's fear marveling. I think that's truth. I really
24:03
do, because already we're getting checked by the mail and that's kind of something
24:07
I feel as an example of socialism. Right you give twol hundred dollars for
24:10
nobody to do anything. It just you get them used to that. And
24:14
I don't want to be used to that. If that makes sense, it
24:15
sounds like you don't either. And you do have that American spirit of up
24:21
and going and not you know, not let anything stop you. And now
24:23
we're literally being told they have to stop everything. That's not the American spirit,
24:26
right data, not at all, not at all. People are getting
24:32
you know, worse out there on the traveling because it makes you bitter it,
24:37
you know, when you've changed the things that we've done to get our
24:41
life to Obviously we grow up. We get educated. We have kids,
24:48
we have family. We're proud of our family. But they do they could
24:52
join the military, they go to college, they do all these things.
24:56
My son just graduated in I'm trying to think May, just in May,
25:03
and he wasn't able to go to school for several months and he didn't didn't
25:08
finish with his classmates. We lost a piece of that at graduation, that
25:17
you know. And this is what's happening out there, and I see it
25:22
every day. Dan, I'm so glad to talk about this because I think
25:26
also as someone with a disability or someone who overcomes everything like you and I
25:30
do, we will be known for our thoughts more so than our actions.
25:33
Like, yeah, it's cool I rolled by one leg, but yeah,
25:37
I should be able to think freely too, you know what I mean.
25:38
I'm fighting that every day. I don't know if you feel you are too,
25:41
but I definitely am fighting that ability to have free speech and say what
25:45
I want. And just because we're just saying, well, we don't have
25:48
to go to a party line, you know, I think there's that too.
25:51
We're kind of couched and like you should be this way because you're this
25:53
way. No, we're free thinkers, aren't we, Dana, I know
26:03
I lost them there. Let's see Danny there. No, I'm here,
26:07
I'm here. Okay. I don't know you call what I just said.
26:10
But I was saying that because we have certain things, we are sort of
26:14
couched in a certain way, like you're this way, so you have to
26:17
think this way, and you and I are like, no, we have
26:18
our own thoughts, thank you very much. Yes we do. We do,
26:26
and some people don't like that. And you know, and let me
26:32
tell you, like I said, it's this COVID deal is killing our country
26:37
right now. And if you look at the statistics on people with flu or
26:44
car accidents or whatever, we have more of the flu that the different other
26:51
things that are going on. There are our United States on people being effective
26:56
with you know, whatever it is. There is more of that than there
27:02
is of the COVID. You know, I don't know if it's uh.
27:07
They they want to keep telling you that people are everyone has it. I've
27:12
had employees of mine here in Texas to go down and get tested and try
27:22
to stand in a line for a day to get tested. When you say
27:26
this is it, I don't want to. I don't want to be here
27:30
and they leave, they don't get tested, but they did sign up and
27:33
two days later they call them back and they say, guess what, You've
27:37
got the COVID and they never got tested. It's ridiculous, what you know,
27:42
because Okay, these these hospitals, if you walk in there, you
27:47
have COVID. And we've heard these stories and they're they're true because I've seen
27:52
it with my own employees here in Texas, and it's just ridiculous. Because
27:57
if you have people they your hospital and they test positive, then guess what
28:03
you get relief from the federal government. You get money. So we tell
28:07
our employees, Okay, guys, everybody has COVID. They walk in.
28:11
If they die in a car accident, they died of COVID. If they
28:15
if they you know, or in a train accident, they die, they
28:18
had COVID. And it's just ridiculous. And there's these numbers in these it's
28:22
a political deal. It's ridiculous. I mean, this is all we're seeing
28:27
it there. Okay, I wear a mask. Okay, when they make
28:32
me wear a mask, I mean, why do you drive down the road
28:36
and you're the only person in the car and you have a mask on.
28:38
It's ridiculous, you know. I heard on I heard on the bus yesterday.
28:45
Give the mine. I'm in the city where we had rioting and looting
28:48
and breaking of stores and everything iron on the bus. Oh, if you
28:51
don't wear your mask, CoP's going to come on and enforce that. I'm
28:55
like, how are you telling that to the people that are breaking into our
28:56
stores or no? You know, it's like they're targeting the wrong people to
29:03
enforce and it sickens me. But I've got to ask you this because a
29:06
lot of you just mentioned, you know, you can't go to the hospital
29:08
if it's COVID in your company, in your you know foundation. Did you
29:15
hear any stories of people saying, yeah, I needed to get this,
29:18
but I couldn't because they canceled elective surgeries. Have you had any stories like
29:22
that come your way? Oh? Absolutely, you know, and and I
29:26
did, and you were sad about this. They tell you that the COVID,
29:30
you go down for the COVID and go get your testing. Listen,
29:36
it's not free. You're paying for it. There is four or five hundred
29:40
dollars in Texas. If you go down and you go get tested, you're
29:44
paying four five hundred dollars decent people, anybody, if you want to get
29:48
tested, you myself, forget it. You're you're paying, I mean,
29:52
so there's no free check you out, and you know, make you say
29:56
for all that other stuff. And then on top of that, they're gonna
29:59
tell you have it, so you're getting double whamming. Now. The surgeries,
30:04
yes, I mean I know that for a fact because I had surgery
30:10
I did have during the COVID and I went to the VA and and and
30:14
I had some minor surgery and all that stuff. But you know, golly,
30:18
it is it's just like we have a movie that's one of those places
30:26
where everybody in the world has COVID and you you know, you have to
30:32
be six feet away from each other, and then you're flying the airplane and
30:38
you're setting twenty inches away from somebody, right, But no, no,
30:47
we're social distancing, and but we're gonna be max capacity on the airplane.
30:52
Now, what is the difference between social distancing in six feet away from each
30:59
other or being right next to somebody on an airplane? Because you have to
31:03
fly on an airplane is so stupid. I just do not get it.
31:07
And just think about that Okay, you got a mask on, you're in
31:08
an airport, you have to do social distancing, but we're gonna scram you
31:14
all on an airplane. It's got a lot of people in there, and
31:18
then you got to fly your tent up there, pull your mask up over
31:22
your nose, you know. Yeah, Well, if you've if you have
31:26
been on airplane, I have several times. Now, it's ridiculous wearing a
31:30
mask. You're about to suffocate with the mask on. Anyway. On top
31:34
of that, I just want you know, if you're if you fly on
31:37
any airline, if you have a bag of chips and you have a water
31:45
with you in your hand the whole time, you don't have to wear your
31:48
mask because you're eating. Okay, so you just take your mask down and
31:55
you pretend that you're eating, and you won't have to wear your masks data
32:01
especially that altitude. I mean, you don't want to have the mask on
32:05
at that altitude. So let me ask you this. Now, let's have
32:07
a little fun with this. So you have protecs, even if not during
32:12
COVID, any crazy prostc stories where you might have gotten them lost thanks to
32:16
the airplane, airport or something like any crazy travel stories they want to share
32:22
with us during the journey. Well, you know, after all these years
32:27
with hundreds of different types of prosthetics for running, jumping, flying, snow
32:36
skiing, water skiing, I have them all. Yeah, traveling, my
32:40
baggage is always very heavy because of all my prosthetics and the parts and pieces
32:45
that you need. It's you know, polishing on them up going through You
32:52
know, big thing is going through airports because you know, I'm jumping out
32:57
of a plane and I use smoke. It's connected to my ankle on my
33:01
prosthetics for the jumping, so you can visually see me when I jump out.
33:06
It looks really cool with the American flag and I do jump a two
33:08
thousand square foot flag and when I come in every jump and so I got
33:14
this residue from this smoke canister that is obviously uh it's kind of like the
33:24
material that you for explosives. So now I'm coming through the airport and they're
33:29
gonna swab my legs and I usually wear short when I'm coming through the airports
33:34
and obviously that you know, coming coming through, they're gonna wand you you
33:39
know, pat you down, swab you check your out and me being military
33:45
at my military ID card, and these guys will they have their little wand
33:50
and they'll beep and and your shorts and they'll say it'll be be sure sure
33:54
what's in your pocket? You know, I'm I'm shorts, I've got prosthetics.
34:01
It's my prosthetics. Well can you there's something hard right there? What
34:07
is that? It's my prosthetics, sir? And so you know, they're
34:15
swap you down and all of a sudden they say, up, it's not
34:20
clear, you know, because it says you have something that we have to
34:23
do another check. Gotlly, this is explosive. What have you been?
34:29
And you tried to explain to you and you might even have your some of
34:31
your parachute care with you. It's the people have no common sense. They
34:37
don't understand, so they hold you up and they have to bring the bomb
34:40
dogs down and all the EOD guys and have to come down there and check
34:45
out. Nine times out of ten, I know these guys and they're like,
34:49
oh my god, boulmn. You know he's jumping out of a plane.
34:52
We know this guy headline news over two hundred and fifty international TV shows.
34:58
I'll be lucky. If they do, and then you know, then
35:01
they have to do more tests. It's not like a common sense thing.
35:06
I'm not a terrorist, Okay, I'm full fledged. I have an American
35:10
flag on my prosthetic leg. I mean I am. I bleed red,
35:16
white, blue, and I've been doing it ever since. But there is
35:20
no common sense when it comes to these guys and gals, some of them
35:25
through these TSAs that need to be educated or we need to start at the
35:30
top and bring it down. You know, if you go overseas and you're
35:35
in Germany, they do it differently. They know they they don't do the
35:43
nonsense thing. Okay, you can go to Japan and you can have water
35:47
on the airplane. You can bring on water on play airplane. You know
35:52
why they have a little tester. You're just stick it in there. Okay,
35:54
you good, go take it. We got all these get ripped off
36:00
by our government and all these people coming up with all these gadgets and gudgets
36:05
and whatever can check your stuff out, and they still snake crap on and
36:12
you know we're getting hosed here. No, Dana, I'll tell you.
36:16
I went to South Carolina for a doctor's appointment and both times, up and
36:22
down, up down to South Carolina back up swam me and my crutches and
36:28
my roller escape and it's like I don't get what it's for, you know,
36:31
it just it doesn't make sense. So I feel you there. You
36:36
mentioned family, and I want to ask you about that. So when this
36:38
thing, when this tragic accent happens in ninety four, how strong was family
36:45
back then? Were you married at that point or not yet? What was
36:47
that dynamic like after your accent? You know, I was married probably about
36:54
eight days before my accent, and so it was brand knew and believe or
37:01
not, when I was in the hospital, she did not want to be
37:07
there. She did not like the guy that had no more legs. I
37:12
mean she was she was somebody to look at you like, oh, I
37:15
don't I don't want to I don't want to be here. This guy was
37:17
my guy that jumped out of planes and he did all these incredible things and
37:22
it was Special Forces and oh the big bad, you know, military guy.
37:27
And then now he's disabled. So, believe or not, my wife
37:31
left me when I was in the hospital, and that was it with that,
37:36
you know. I I recovered by myself and had to be strong through
37:43
those doctors and for the sneaking out and joining back in the military. And
37:47
so I, you know, after I left the military and my twenty years
37:52
and I that's what I did. I still that's how I met you guys
37:55
up in New York and uh with still jumping, still speaking, motivational speaking.
38:01
And I went to UND Aerospace up in North Dakota got my AERONOX degree,
38:07
and I moved to Texas, and believe or not, when I was
38:10
at UND Aerospace, I met a lady up there and I got married and
38:15
I had twin girls. I bought my girls to Texas, and you know,
38:22
I've been here ever since, and I've traveled all over the United States.
38:27
I do about one hundred demo jumps a year and have some great parachute
38:31
stories. And I always tell some great stories from you know, flying or
38:38
jumping or just meeting some incredible heroes. I met the guys with the Boston
38:45
bombing. I met, you know, almost all the Medal of Honor recipients,
38:52
and I say military, our Vietnam veterans are you know, Korean war
38:57
vetters are last guys that are on now. They're Tuskey Gairment I mean,
39:01
we've we've lost a lot of heroes and we do every day. And you
39:07
know, these poor veterans now are really suffering over this because you know,
39:13
they say, the older than you are, the more missusceptible you are to
39:15
this COVID deal. And you know, so they're all not coming out,
39:21
they're not going up. People are not driving their fight, and they're you
39:24
know, because they watch TV, they watch the internet. They scare them
39:30
to dickens. So, by the way, I do love the stories that
39:34
we're seeing, like a ninety nine year old or one hundred year old who
39:37
survived World War Two survive this too. It's like, wow, that's that's
39:42
amazing, and it really goes to show the tenacity. Right, So if
39:45
you're one hundred and surviving, that means you're tenacious and just like you are,
39:51
Dana, Right. So I think there's a lot of correlation between staying
39:54
active, staying fit, and staying healthy. No, it really is there
40:01
a time where someone may not may catch you without you wearing the legs?
40:07
Has you know, do you ever have a downtime where you're not wearing them?
40:10
And just because I know it, sometimes it may get a little too
40:15
much but but are there any times where you don't wear it? No,
40:19
I am not. I keep my legs on all day long, and I
40:25
just I do whatever I can do. I mean, that's that's part of
40:30
me. Have you. So, I'm guessing you didn't wear a mask during
40:35
these parachutes during COVID, which I'm very proud of that to hear that.
40:38
So what was that like for you? Must have fell uplifting for yourself and
40:43
for those around you that saw you come in like, yes, we're doing
40:45
this, we're during this time. But Dana's uplifting us right now. I'm
40:52
just, you know, just just trying to not give up. And on
40:58
top of that fire I had, tons of events were canceled after this COVID
41:06
thing, and it just, you know, Elvish's my revenue. When I
41:09
go out jump and speak, I get paid for a lot of this stuff.
41:14
And you know, and then when you get something changed your whole life
41:16
like that, you know it's gonna it's gonna it's gonna upset everything that you
41:22
do. You know, economy has been tough, and yet here you are,
41:30
you're still doing so, but you didn't mention you did do some events.
41:32
So do you want to tell us a little bit about you did some
41:36
rodeos. Was this during the pandemic? Oh during the pandemic yet? And
41:39
you don't want to hear something I didn't one here in Weatherford, Texas where
41:44
I live at, And it was you know, it was last month,
41:49
and uh, I got invited to come into the rodeo and jump in on
41:55
Friday Saturdays. But what happened was months earlier. They called me the day
42:00
because you know, the sheriff's posse called me and said we're canceling. And
42:05
I said, are you kidding me? I said, this is our this
42:10
is where we live at. I mean, this is you know where I
42:15
live at. Tys Awesome. These people are awesome. They don't they don't
42:19
like this COVID thing. And and I said, you guys are bowing down
42:23
and you are not. You have to have some balls to go out there
42:28
and you know, just say hey, we're gonna come community, We're going
42:31
to do this and this is no kid. So they called and they canceled,
42:37
and and I was, I called my friends, you believe this?
42:40
They canceled. I mean, now we're going to be like everybody else gets
42:45
canceled. Everything make it even more miserable for people. I mean, these
42:49
poor kids just couldn't have a graduation, and and all these kids in town
42:53
and everybody just look, we love the rodeo. I mean, everybody goes
42:59
to it and I get to jump into it, you know. And and
43:02
then all of a sudden, I get a phone call back about I think
43:07
it was a day later, and they said, oh, oh, we're
43:09
back on. We're back on. I'm like, oh, thank god,
43:13
thank god. But they had changed it for you know, weeks later.
43:17
Sure what we pulled this thing off. We had over seven thousand people there.
43:24
And you want to hear something. We made headline news. If you
43:30
pull up weather for Texas and you want to you want to see the picture.
43:34
The media came says, oh my god, this is not a COVID
43:37
safe place. Seven thousand people, not one person had a mask on.
43:43
Okay, Now, obviously the first they're going to say, oh my god,
43:46
the cases are increasing, and then you know, obviously the governor has
43:51
to get involved, and the judges have to get involved, and then they're
43:53
all freaking out about it because we had a great We raise the money,
44:01
we give the money to the disabled, we give it to the schools.
44:07
We you know, we we were Americans, and I'm gonna tell you we're
44:13
proud Americans, proud Texans. You know, we have one statue in town
44:19
here and it's from the Civil War, and you know they obviously, you
44:27
know, people from Houston had come down and try to tear it down here.
44:30
And I'm going to tell you you don't want to come to Weatherford or
44:35
any place in Texas because we have every gun in America here and we will
44:39
protect what we have here in Texas. You're not going to take our statue
44:46
down. You know, we we believe in Hey, let me tell you
44:51
something. So I jumped in the rodeo, right, you want to hear
44:53
something. My video of me jumping into the rodeo, it went to zero
45:00
point four million people. Yeah, I'm sure that you can probably even pull
45:05
it up. I did get on a couple of TV shows, not because
45:09
of it. Here's a big deal, Dann. You know I didn't I
45:13
didn't really give a context of the jumping at the Games. I was about
45:15
five or six, so this was about twenty twenty five years ago. Twenty
45:20
years ago when I first met Yeah, twenty five when I first met you,
45:23
and so you're still jumping twenty something years later. So what's it like
45:28
jumping at thirty compared to jumping now? Is there a difference? Is the
45:32
is the body maintenance different than it was back then? What's it like jumping
45:37
now? Well worn and torn? That's what it's about. I broke a
45:42
lot of prosthetic limbs on my way down. I'm a well seasoned paratrooper,
45:50
okay, that hasn't give up given up. I mentioned I have over thirty
45:52
parachutes, over four thousand jumps. You know, I can land on that
46:00
small little spot still, I and you know when am I going to stop?
46:05
Well, you know, maybe it's coming close, real close. But
46:09
you know what they love patriotm You know, there's not a whole lot of
46:13
people that bring a two thousand square foot flag in and be trained by the
46:17
Gold Knights and still land on that target safely, you know. So.
46:24
And I don't know if the listeners, your crowd that listened to you on
46:30
your podcast that you know, what their views on that. But let me
46:35
tell you that jump that I did in the rodeo just several weeks ago,
46:40
and then I went up to Sturgis, I did another jump in there,
46:45
and it was the same deal there I got on National News, was on
46:49
Fox and Friends, and the first thing they said on there, you know,
46:52
people trying to portray overtop it. Oh my golly, the COVID cases
46:59
in stir just with all these big bad bikers. It's just rampant, which
47:04
it wasn't. They bring these stories up to frighten people, and I don't
47:08
know why. But so this headline news, this picture of myself coming in
47:14
there, I believe or not. You know, we know who our president
47:19
is, President Trump, and we love our president by Texas and more and
47:24
more of it. We're wanting to get our country back in By the way,
47:29
everybody loved Trump before. Everybody loved Trump before he was president. I
47:32
don't know what changed, but everybody, rappers wanted to be like him,
47:37
disabled community welcomed him with open arms. By the way, we would have
47:40
menshiviscardi school schools. So I don't know what changed, but I think it's
47:45
I'd say it's kind of the because of the R. But I think it's
47:47
because of the R next to his name. I just have to say that
47:51
I think that's well part of it. Well, well, so I just
47:53
want to tell you that I mentioned I have thirty two pair shoots. I
47:57
am the only one in the United States that has and I'm proud of it
48:01
too, that has the Trump parachute, and I jumped that parachute into all
48:07
these places I go, and I'm gonna tell you, people love it.
48:09
We know that we're gonna get our country back. We have to. If
48:13
we don't, if we don't win this election in November, and then yes,
48:17
we should be frightened. Okay, you should be. We need to
48:22
get it back. When you come back on I love to get you on
48:23
video too, because you've got quite a story. And I want to put
48:25
this on my YouTube as a video as well. So when we do another
48:29
one, let's definitely assume this because this is a This is some great stuff.
48:32
And you've met him personally or not. I have not yet, but
48:37
since I'm jumping his parachute, I'm going to and I've already been invited.
48:43
Now it doesn't matter whether I meet him or not. I just know that
48:47
I see what it is and people about shaving our country, stopping Antifa,
48:55
caring of our country, fighting with each other black white, Okay, we
49:01
need to get along and we can and we did. We didn't start this,
49:07
Okay, the Republicans are not out there, you know, tearing down
49:14
statues. Who is doing it? Come on, By the way, there
49:17
weren't even any riots outside the Biden campaign speech, so you know, nomination
49:22
speech. So you tell me about that one, you know it just it
49:27
proves to me something that, yeah, there is a leftist thing going on.
49:31
I'm not going to relent in saying that because how can you explain no
49:36
mob outside Biden's speech, but a mob outside Trump speech. There's no there's
49:40
no question what that is. I'm with your brother. So I'm going to
49:46
ask you one one, Well, really this every jump since you've had this
49:52
happen and you overcame this and and everything, do you do it for your
49:57
partner that did die in that crash? Do you say, I'm gonna jump
50:01
for my friend jose Agon, Sergeant Agon, every jump like, do you
50:07
dedicate that to him? Even if you don't say it in mine and spirit?
50:12
Absolutely listen, you know, I know he'd be proud to see what
50:15
I've done. You know what happened to us when we hit each other,
50:19
It was an accident. Accents happen every days overcome that. And I'm sure
50:23
there's people in here that are listening that have some type of a disability and
50:30
there's some tragedy something, Why them, Why did this happen to me?
50:35
Or or a lot of times we don't know, you know, God knows.
50:39
Okay, we don't, but we had there's people that love you.
50:44
Okay. We have a big problem. And don't think it's not in America
50:49
in the military of suicide. And so it's not like you hear the twenty
50:54
two so service members kill theirselfs a day, and listen to me, they're
51:00
Americans kill theirselfs. They're more more, thousands of people kill theirself every day
51:07
because they get dipressed, depressed. I don't think that people haven't committed suicide
51:12
because of what's going on in our country right now. Yes they are.
51:15
And I'm gonna tell you those people that are are horrible, people that are
51:21
that are tearing up our country. They're gonna pay. I will tell you
51:27
another They think that keeping us inside is the safest thing, but really it
51:30
is killing us because of the suicide rate, as you mentioned, yes,
51:35
and and so I guess I started this with the case of the Mondays because
51:39
I woke up fired up today. I said, it's not going to be
51:42
just another you know, draw Monday. We're gonna make something of it.
51:45
Do you ever get that depression still or are you pretty much pass out?
51:51
Like? How do you make sure you don't get the case the mondays and
51:53
just keep going? You know? I yes, I get, I still
51:59
get sometimes I getta, you know, wake up and just think about I'm
52:05
alive, you know. Sut you know, there's gonna be things thrown out
52:08
thrown at us every day of our life. We gotta and there's gonna be
52:14
other people that be worse off too, you know, just like when I
52:19
fell a little story about when I was when I when I was in the
52:22
United States Military, I see a guy in a wheelchair and I walked by
52:27
him and I probably didn't say hi. I just looked at him, saying
52:34
we didn't want to be there, you know, I mean, I mean
52:37
really I looked at this guy like, oh hate to be him, you
52:43
know, and never realmin Leaven thought about and that's how normal people with two
52:49
arms, two legs due they walk by somebody and just look at him and
52:52
maybe discussed maybe saying, you know, poor guy, or whatever. And
53:00
then and then no kid, I become a double amputee. I'm in a
53:05
wheelchair, and you know what, I seen that soldier walk by me do
53:10
that same look that I just did, And now I got it. I
53:17
get it. Okay. It took me being a guy that had it all
53:22
and down to hear no legs one above the knee, one below the knee
53:28
in a wheelchair. Now I'm disabled. And I'm gonna tell you people look
53:36
at people differently with disabilities, and we don't want to be looked at like
53:42
that because I remember what I did, and sure I was wrong, you
53:46
know, but that's all the things that like I said, these listeners and
53:51
people that have two arms and two legs or had some type of a small
53:53
disability member, we all have a disability. Your disabilities are the things you
53:59
think you can't do. Remember all these things I just told you. Being
54:02
a pilot jumping out of a plane, shoot, move and communicate. I'm
54:07
still out there actively doing all this stuff. I might walk differently, and
54:14
you know what, I might get in that airplane and fly that different that
54:15
airplane differently, but guess what, I have a first class medical I fly.
54:22
I've been checked out by the FAA. I have a statement of demonstrated
54:25
ability certificate that being checked out. I can fly helicopters, seaplanes, have
54:36
multi engine airplanes. I can fly them all. And can you do that?
54:42
Okay? You know you can if you want to, of course,
54:45
go out there. Hey, Dana, I'm talking about Dana Bowman. He
54:47
is a double mpute paratrooper, parachuter, he trunt. Now I find out
54:53
he fly is the only Trump parachuting and I'm very excited to hear that,
54:59
Dana, And that's very cool. But you mentioned God. You mentioned about
55:02
walking past the soldier in the wheelchair, and now how you've been in that
55:07
role too. Now, But God, where has God played in yours in
55:13
all of this for you? You know, I wouldn't be alive if God
55:16
was not there for me. I mean, because remember I lost it all.
55:22
I have nowhere to turn, you know. It's you know, we
55:30
need to keep our faith. That's what keeps our country going. Okay.
55:34
In God, we trust, we see that. We see a lot of
55:37
it going away too. We can't forget about it, you know. In
55:42
faith all can be healed, you know, because there's there's a lot of
55:46
stories in the Bible where something happens to someone because God has a plan for
55:51
them. I mean, maybe it's too crap, but do you think this
55:54
was God's plan for you? Or how do you feel about that? I'm
56:00
sure it is, you know, because I've had people that had tried to
56:04
divert me and stop me and move me over and say, well this is
56:08
you know, you can't do this, like join the United States military.
56:12
Again, you can't. You can't, Yeah, but you can't. I
56:16
had all these people, oh, you can't do this, jump whatever,
56:21
And no, kid, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be.
56:23
I'm being guided every day in the right direction. And you know what,
56:28
if it's not meant to be, then no worries. Then I then
56:32
I'm not supposed to be doing that. But I'm telling you I've been the
56:37
doors open that they you know, I'm able to do all these incredible things
56:44
because I'm sure there's still something else else out there. He's helping me,
56:50
he protects me. And I'm telling you I've been in even being the double
56:53
NT, I've had some squirrelly jumps and and landings and things like that,
57:00
and and I mean, just you could only imagine all the places I go,
57:06
and if I do something, I gotta be safe. I don't want
57:08
to die. You know, I almost died. But and guess what,
57:14
I'm not worried. I'm not worried. Dan. I think there's a reason
57:17
why you and I reconnected. This This is not by accident. So I'm
57:22
very glad that we had this hour. It's I'm gonna put this in a
57:24
podcast segment called the Abilities Hour, where I talk to people who have been
57:30
overcoming a lot, and it's the hour where we just talk about, you
57:34
know, our abilities. And I think we need to talk about more because
57:37
I think, as you say, and as I've seen and I've been told,
57:39
there are a lot of people that say, no, you can't do
57:40
this, Well, yes we can. And we are plain and simple,
57:45
right, plain and simple. And so Dana Bowman, thank you so much
57:50
for this beautiful hour of conversation. And I got a little insight into you
57:53
more than just seeing you jump out of the plane at like six years old.
57:57
I get to know you a little more today. So I'm very at
58:00
that. And I was talway with my dad. Yes, I said,
58:01
you know, remember when he went around he was giving out those signed pictures.
58:05
I remember that because I think you literally took a note right in front
58:09
of me to give me the picture. I kind of have that visual of
58:12
that, so I'll never forget those days. And thanks for reconnecting. I'm
58:16
glad we had this hour today. I really appreciate it. Thanks for starting
58:21
my great warning, and uh, let's do this again sometime. Okay,
58:25
we'll do it all right. I'm Alex Garrett. That's Dana Bowman. This
58:30
is the Abilities Hour on Alex S. Garrett Podcasting. And please do not
58:34
get a case of the mondays. Start your week out. Uh, you
58:37
know, pretty damn good on a high energy level. We'll talk to you soon.