Retired Staff Sgt. Heath Calhoun, a former member of the 101st Airborne unit and a veteran of the Iraq war, received the 2007 George C. Lang Award for Courage.
            Calhoun received the award for exemplifying the spirit of Lang, a Vietnam veteran, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, and friend of the Wounded Warrior Project. Lang, who passed away in 2005, was an advocate for all veterans, especially those with disabilities.
            Calhoun, also a Wounded
Warrior, was severely injured when a
rocket-propelled grenade hit his
Humvee in 2003, resulting in the
amputation of both his legs above the
knee.
            During his seven months
rehabilitating at Walter Reed, Calhoun
became familiar with the Wound
Warrior Project, which offers support
and shared experiences to injured
service men and women. After his
rehabilitation, he joined the Wounded
Warrior Project as a national
spokesperson, lobbying for changes
in law, and speaking to the public
about the needs of the wounded, and
counseling the newly injured as an
Amputee Coalition of America (ACA)
certified peer visitor.
            He actively worked to get the
Wounded Warrior Bill passed through
Congress in 2005. Known as
“traumatic injury protection,” the
legislation financially assists wounded military and their families during the time of rehabilitation.
            During his own time in rehabilitation, Calhoun said there was not anyone around who had the same injury he had.
            “I was one of the first bi-lateral amputees at Walter Reed,” he explains. “While there were above-knee and below-knee amputees walking around, I saw no bi-lats. I didn’t know who to look up to.”
            Although he was fitted with two prosthetic legs, and was able to walk with a cane, that wasn’t enough to satisfy Calhoun.
            “I could walk a few steps, but any more than that and I needed to use a cane. It was not where I wanted to be,” he said.
            In fact, Calhoun found his prostheses so uncomfortable and walking so difficult, he thought he would never use his “legs” fully again and would need to always rely on a wheelchair.
            “I was spending so much effort to learn how to walk and I felt I was not making any progress, which was not a good feeling,” he said. “I kept thinking there was something about my (residual limbs) that couldn’t be fit with prosthetics.”
            Then, another Wounded Warrior suggested he attend a workshop for bi-lateral amputees conducted by Kevin Carroll, CP, FAAOP, and Randy Richardson, RPA, at the national ACA conference in Minnesota.
            “I saw five bi-lats walking,” he said, noting that athlete and triple amputee Cameron Clapp was there demonstrating his mobility.
            “I started asking questions – why these guys could do it and I couldn’t,” he said. “After talking to them, I thought I would give prosthetics another try.”
            As soon as he could, Calhoun visited Hanger Orthotics & Prosthetics in Oklahoma City. He began by relearning how to walk on shortened prosthetics, which are called stubbies.