1. 26 | PN August 2015
On Target
by Amanda Laverman
COURTESY OF IOWA PVA CHAPTER
The buzz of bullets and
excitement fill the air as shooters take their mark.
Members of Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA)
are set to engage in friendly competition with a
variety of rifle, pistol and trapshoot events. These
veterans who use wheelchairs are competing
alongside able-bodied enthusiasts in their shared
passion: shooting sports.
For many veterans with spinal-cord
injury or disease (SCI/D), shooting is an
activity they’ve long enjoyed and can con-
tinue to do so. PVA encourages veterans to
maximize their quality of life by pursuing
the hobbies they appreciated before sustain-
ing a SCI/D. The mutual interest of shooting
and sportsmanship among so many mem-
Jim Russell, national director and
shooting sports director for the
Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA)
Cal-Diego Chapter, sets up a shot at the
Iowa PVA Tournament.
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3. 28 | PN August 2015
shooting. There are some wheelchair shooters
that can outshoot the able-bodies,” says PVA
Iowa Chapter Vice President and National Direc-
tor Kenneth Lloyd. “This is a good program for
getting wheelchair people out of the house that
used to shoot before.”
Jim Russell, national director and shoot-
ing sports director for the PVA Cal-Diego
Chapter, echoes this sentiment.
“It’s a great way to show the able-side of
disabled,” he says.
Lloyd joined PVA while receiving health
care from his local Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) hospital after breaking his back
during a 30-foot fall in 1995. He had served
with the Army in Korea during the early 1970s.
When he first joined the PVA Iowa Chapter, it
didn’t have any sporting programs.
Lloyd was given the chance to participate
in an all-expenses paid trip to the National Vet-
erans Wheelchair Games in San Diego, where
he earned four gold medals and one silver. He
returned inspired to bring these same activities
and experience to his home chapter.
Utilizing His Skills
After joining the Iowa chapter’s board in
1997, Lloyd was named its sports director.
While in this role, he initiated several of the
chapter’s sport programs: pool tournaments,
fishing, hunting, bowling and lastly, a com-
mon favorite, trapshooting.
“Our first trapshoot was very small,
but the following year our chapter held the
year-end shoot,” says Lloyd. “It was amazing
to look down the trap range and see all the
wheelchair shooters.”
Russell served with the Marine Corps for
20 years and later severed his spinal cord in a
motorcycle accident. He is also a lifetime mem-
ber of the National Rifle Association which led to
his commitment to encouraging veterans with
SCI/D to leave the house and rejoin the outside
Mike Olson, left, and
Kenneth Lloyd, right,
participate at the Iowa
Paralyzed Veterans of
America Tournament.
COURTESY OF IOWA PVA CHAPTER
“No one is treated any differently when they are
shooting. There are some wheelchair shooters
that can outshoot the able-bodies. This is a
good program for getting wheelchair people
out of the house that used to shoot before.”
– Kenneth Lloyd
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4. August 2015 PN | 29
world doing something
they love.
“I have always
enjoyed shooting
and have a knack for
organizing things; the
shooting program allows me to utilize both of
those skills,” Russell says.
Real People
Another project spearheaded by PVA was the
passage of the Disabled Sportsmen’s Access
Act of 1998, which increased the amount of
opportunities for disabled veterans to partici-
pate in outdoor recreational activities.
PVAalsodonatesadaptiveoutdoorequip-
menttomilitaryinstallationsandstatewildlife
agenciestofurtherexpandtheinvolvementof
veteranswithwheelchairsinsportingevents.The
chaptersdotheirparttoincreaseopportunities
aswell.Localbusinessesarefrequentlyinvited
toparticipateinshoots,givingthemthechance
toseefirsthandthebenefitsofgettingveterans
involvedintheircompanies.
“Participating in these shoots gives busi-
nesses the chance to see us as real people,” Rus-
sell says. “They leave wanting to modify their
businesses and invite veterans into their work-
place, not just doing so out of obligation.”
In addition to local businesses, the
chapters also invite other special guests and
celebrities to take part in the shoots. One
of the most memorable celebrities to have
joined in the shoots is five-time Olympic
medal-winner Kim Rhode.
She is the first U.S. Olympian competing
in an individual sport to win five medals in five
consecutive Olympic Games, doing so in dou-
ble trapshooting and skeet shooting. Another
special participant was American actor and
World War II veteran John Russell, most noted
for playing Marshal Dan Troop in the television
series Lawman. He and his son, also named Jim
Russell, participated in a shoot.
“John and Jim hadn’t talked to each other
for around 10 years because of some sort of
falling out,” Russell says. “They both came to
our event, and I put them on a squad together
so they would have to talk to each other. After
that, they were able to have a family relation-
ship again until John’s passing.”
Having special guests like these have helped
increase awareness regarding the sporting pro-
gram and encouraged more veterans to join.
“It’s a great option for veterans with disabilities who have always
liked the outdoors and shooting sports to get out of the house.
For those who didn’t do much shooting before, it can be a great
way to find out if they do like these types of activities — it’s a
great wholesome sport.” – Jim Russell
Kenneth Lloyd takes
his shooting game to
the National Veterans
Wheelchair Games in
Richmond, Va.
Paralyzed Veterans
of America (PVA) Cal-
Diego member Doug
Vann competes in
shooting with the PVA
Cal-Diego trap team.
STEVENM.SHELDEN
COURTESYOFIOWAPVACHAPTER
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