Different conflicts, M. Todd Hunter SAME MOUNTAIN Veterans with similar injuries from different wars join peers in Colorado for Miracles on a Mountainside T hough Dave Nichols and Alex Hussey served in the Army decades apart, they share an experience that transcends time and conflict—both know what it’s like to have their lives changed in a heartbeat while serving their country. Nichols was just 20 years old in 1970 when a Claymore mine detonation took both of his legs during a Vietnamese ambush. “You go from being in the Army, and the best shape of your life, and then the next thing you know, you’re flat on your back with a life-changing injury,” explained Nichols. “You suddenly feel like you’re at the bottom of the barrel.” Forty-two years later, Hussey lost both of his legs to an improvised explosive device in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. The blast also took most of his left hand and left him in a coma for six months with a traumatic brain injury. He, too, was just 20. “At first, he was very angry,” said Kim Hussey, Alex’s wife. “But he’s the type of person who is going to focus on what he can do, not what he can’t. Over time, we’ve been trying to find him things that were fun for him. We didn’t dwell on his injuries.” 16 DAV MAGAZINE | JULY/AUGUST 2019 | DAV.ORG
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Different conflicts, SAME MOUNTAIN
M. Todd Hunter
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