​America’s team: amputee soldiers push limits of life without a limb

HPR caught up with Dennis Wince, the Executive Director of the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team (WWAST), to talk about the team’s mission and busy schedule.

The WWAST is a public charity with a mission to inspire and educate others while enhancing the health and welfare of Wounded Warrior Amputees. The team of veterans and active duty soldiers travels across the country as competitive athletes, playing against able-bodied teams in exhibition and competition. In June the team played in Grand Forks and Bismarck and will play in Sioux Falls, S.D. on September 2, at the ASA North National Tournament.

This team includes some of our bravest and most determined soldiers and veterans. They have sustained severe injuries resulting in amputation, and through rehabilitation have become competitive athletes again. The team includes individuals with a variety of amputations—of the arm, above-knee, below-knee, bilateral below-knee, and foot.

Two of the current players are from North Dakota. Sergeant (Retired) Chris Hutton is from Grand Forks. He enlisted in the North Dakota Army National Guard in 1993. He was called to active duty for Operation Noble Eagle, for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and three times for state activations (flood operations). His last deployment was from June 2004 through November 2005.

Upon his return to North Dakota, Chris was struck by a drunk driver while operating his motorcycle in Grand Forks. The accident left him with a below-the-knee amputation of the right leg. He retired from the Army National Guard in 2012, and is now a corporal in the Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Department.

Airman Jeremy Sabin lived in numerous locations as the child of a father in the Air Force. Jeremy had a seizure in 35 below zero weather and was found three days later, frozen and in a coma. While he regained consciousness, his left foot required amputation due to frostbite. Some of his decorations are the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and a good conduct medal. Jeremy currently lives in Grand Forks and wants to become an addiction-mental health counselor.

High Plains Reader: Tell us about the WWAST’s founding.

Dennis Wince: The WWAST was started in 2011 when the founder received a VA Grant to conduct a softball clinic at the University of Arizona. The intent was for the veterans to get together to show that they could still play the sport they once loved, and then go back into their communities and play for their local leagues. There was one problem, the players established a bond with each other and wanted to stay together. The team was formed and was able to find sponsors that allow them to now travel the country playing able-bodied teams bringing our special brand of softball, courage and inspiration.

Major donors include the William Donner Foundation, the Commerce Hotel and Casino, Auxiliary of the APWU (American Postal Workers Union), Christmas Island Style, InDyne, Regenesis Biomedical, Knight Point Systems, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, Highland Woods Golf and Country Club, Louisville Slugger, the Washington Nationals, and Össur. 

HPR: Tell us more about your Kids Camp.

DW: Every year we host a Kids Camp for approximately 20 children with amputations (between 8-12 years old) for a week-long camp, with our team members coaching and mentoring them. The WWAST pays all expenses for the children and one guardian. The Camp this year was held in northern Virginia, June 13–18.

HPR: How was your experience playing in North Dakota?

DW: We recently had a great weekend at the McQuade Softball Tournament in Bismarck. The team played well and we were welcomed by the city of Bismarck and its citizens with open arms. The tournament directors, Jack Jones and Mike Wolfe, ran an amazing tournament and our games were well attended by other teams and the community. The team also played in Grand Forks and had a similar experience in that community.

HPR: Do players rotate on and off, or on for the whole season, and what is your season?

DW: We play year-round. We have more than 30 players on our roster, but we only bring 10-14 players to each event depending on the number of games scheduled for the event. Having a big roster allows us the opportunity to play year-round.

HPR: Are there any women players?

Dennis: We have one “official” female player on the team – Danielle Green. We have a new player, Heather Carter, who is on a “probationary” status going through the tryout process. Specialist (Retired) Danielle Green is a former Division I basketball player at Notre Dame, enlisted in the army in 2003 as a Military Police officer and was deployed in Iraq in 2004. In Iraq she was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and it ripped her dominant left arm. She was awarded the Purple Heart. Danielle has a MS in Counseling and works for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Senior Airman (Retired) Heather Carter enlisted with the Air Force in 2008 and served in the Global War on Terrorism as an Intelligence Analyst. She has earned a Joint Service Achievement Medal and Outstanding Unit Service Ribbon. She was injured in early 2010 while playing softball with the Air Force, resulting in an above the knee amputation. Heather lives in Virginia where she is a contractor within the Intelligence Community and is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Homeland Security.

HPR: Anything else to add?

DW: Our athletes push the limits of modern prosthetics. Our dream would be the return of our soldiers from harm’s way without the loss of life or limb. Until such a time, our goal is to support and honor our veterans’ sacrifices, and to show others that life without a limb is limitless.

I want to stress that we are so much more than a softball team! In addition to raising funds for our program costs, we want to remind everyone that our players play for each other as a part of continued service and we also play for the kids -- the kids who are like us through no fault of their own and the kids of our brothers and sisters in arms who didn’t make it back from battle. Our recent partnership with the Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund will assist with the costs of college education for the children of fallen service members.

The organization is active in raising funds that have been donated to research for Heterotopic Ossification (HO). HO is excess bone growth in soft tissues that occurs in the residual limbs of combat amputees. This malady has affected many of our players and appears in 65% of amputations resulting from a blast injury.

The WWAST is not affiliated with other charities having the words “Wounded Warrior” in their names. Since our inception, over 85% of our donations have supported programs supporting Wounded Warrior Amputees, amputee children, and medical research.

YOU SHOULD KNOW:

WEBSITE: www.thewwast.org

TWITTER: @WWAmpSoftball