Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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March 13, 2010

Grundy grad leads U.S. into 2010 Paralympics

By BILL ARCHER Bluefield Daily Telegraph

GRUNDY, Va. — A Buchanan County, Va., man, Heath Calhoun, was honored to carry the American flag during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Paralympics Games at Vancouver, British Columbia. Calhoun, 30, a double amputee who lost his legs during a rocket propelled grenade attack in Iraq in 2003, will compete in three skiing events at the Paralympics, according to his father, Kermit Calhoun of Bristol, Va. “Heath was selected to be the flag bearer for the U.S. Paralympics team,” Kermit Calhoun said. “He will also be honored in Richmond, Va., after he was selected grand-prize winner of the Crown Royal 400 program,” he said. The May 1, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race at the Richmond, Va. International Speedway is named the Crown Royal Heath Calhoun 400. Calhoun was selected from a group of five military finalists who had been nominated by their friends, family and fellow soldiers “for their ability to demonstrate the core values of the military in performing a selfless act that made them a hero. “Heath’s nomination detailed his determination and ability to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest despite their injuries,” according to a press release from Crown Royal. “He could have thrown up his hands and said, ‘Pity me,’” Kermit Calhoun said. “Now, he goes around and talks to other soldiers in similar circumstances to counsel them about using prosthetic legs.” Heath Calhoun was a 1997 graduate of Grundy Senior High School. He entered the U.S. Army in 1999, just as his father had done when he served with the Army in the Vietnam War. “His maternal grandfather served in World War II,” Kermit Calhoun said. He was serving as a staff sergeant in a US Army Airborne Ranger when the Humvee he was riding in came under attack. After spending nine months at Walter Reed Medical Center, he tried different prosthetic components, but wound up using a wheelchair. He became active in the Wounded Warrior Program and began working with other wounded soldiers. In the spring of 2005, he participated in the Soldier Ride National Tour and completed a 4,200 mile cross-country bike ride using a hand cycle. In June 2006, he attended a conference in Minnesota that showed him how much mobility he could have using prosthetic legs. “He’s independent,” Kermit Calhoun said of his son. “He drives his own car and it has a standard transmission. He uses the clutch and no hand controls. His mother and I tried to raise him right. We’re very proud of him.” Several Calhoun family members — Kermit and Heath’s mother, Judy Calhoun, as well as Heath’s wife and children, Tiffany and Mason, 7, Brystal, 5, and Bailee, 4, all flew to Vancouver together to watch Heath Calhoun enter the stadium leading the American Paralympics team. Kermit Calhoun retired as a coal miner at Island Creek Coal Co., in Buchanan County. “Heath and his family live in Clarksville, Tenn., and Judy and I live in Bristol,” Calhoun said. “But we still have a lot of friends up in Buchanan County and up in the Welch-Iaeger area in McDowell County,” he added. – Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com

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