Veterans served in Iraq, Afghanistan

By Mike Hodgson/Associate Editor

Seven American veterans infiltrated the ranks of Pismo Beach surfers Friday in a three-day mission dubbed Operation Restoration III, launched with the goal of inspiring them to reach new levels of accomplishment.

The operation also aims to help them re-integrate with the world they knew before they were shipped out to Iraq and Afghanistan, where they lost limbs or suffered paralyzing injuries.

With the help of volunteers, the veterans took to the waves to learn the joys of surfing under the tutelage of Central Coast surfers organized by Ampsurf, the Association of Amputee Surfers.

“This is the first time I've seen a board this close,” said Army Cpl. Gabriel Cardoso of Austin, Texas, shivering in a beach wheelchair after his first assault on the waves. “I thought they would be like a skateboard or something. They're big!”

The 22-year-old Cardoso, a member of the 509th Paratrooper Infantry Regiment, broke his L-4 vertebra when the Humvee he was riding in rolled over near Fallujah, Iraq, leaving his legs paralyzed.

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But rather than let his injury hold him back, Cardoso is using it as a springboard to greater achievement.

“Right now, I'm into everything,” he said. “Back in San Antonio, I do wheelchair basketball, handcycling, scuba diving. ... Six months ago when I wasn't in a wheelchair, I wouldn't have tried this. But I'm in a wheelchair. What can I lose?

“The only thing right now - it's cold!” he added.

It wasn't long before Cardoso was back in the water, where he would spend more than an hour riding the waves before finally coasting up onto the beach, smiling from ear to ear.

“Just seeing him smile made my whole month,” said Vance Gregory of Grover Beach, who said for him surfing is “a passion” that he volunteered to share with the veterans.

“It's the least we can do for these guys who gave so much for our country,” said Gregory, the roommate of Rodney Roller, co-founder of Ampsurf and Operation Restoration, which was first held two years ago at Pismo Beach.

Roller, himself a leg amputee, was also Cardoso's instructor.

“I actually got him outside,” he said, referring to the area beyond where the waves break and surfers wait for incoming swells. “I got him to experience the stoke.

“That's my goal - to give them a little of the stoke that we experience every day, to pass that along to the soldiers so they can go on and meet their goals, not necessarily to make surfers out of them.”

But in some cases, Roller's Operation Restoration seems to do both.

“I like it a lot,” Sgt. Michael Gallardo said of surfing, something he tried for the first time Friday even though he's from Los Angeles. “I actually want to do this every day now.

“The first or second time, I was able to stand up,” he said. “I had a good instructor.”

A member of the 1st Cavalry Division, Gallardo, 23, lost his lower leg Feb. 12, 2007, on the Jabouri Peninsula east of Balad, Iraq, when the Humvee he was in was hit by two IEDs - improvised explosive devices.

Four of the five men in the vehicle were wounded, the worst injuries suffered by Gallardo and the truck captain, who lost both his legs.

Gallardo said Operation Restoration is really good - both mentally and physically - for him and the others who flew in from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

“Whatever is going on at home, at the house, is all left behind,” he said. “Most of us have been working out already, but it takes a lot of strength to get up on the board. It's really tiring.”

But volunteers said they were impressed by the efforts of the veterans and their willingness to try something even some people with all their arms and legs won't do.

“These veterans are amazing,” said Lyn Burich of Santa Barbara and the Western Surfing Association. “I've taught a lot of people to surf, and it's hard to get some of them to even paddle out. These guys are just going for it.

“Their determination and the attitude they hold is like no one else. They're another caliber of people, that's for sure.”

But more adventures still lay ahead for the veterans in Operation Restoration. In addition to another round of surfing instruction this morning, they're scheduled to play a round of golf this afternoon at Black Lake Golf Resort.

On Sunday, they'll be back at the beach for open surfing, followed by kayaking in Shell Beach and an afternoon luau at Mongo's in Grover Beach.

Although the golfing and kayaking are for the troops only, Roller said the public is invited to come out and cheer them on as they surf, and the luau from 3 to 7 p.m. is open to the public at $20 per person.

To order luau tickets, visit ampsurfaas@yahoo.com.

Mike Hodgson can be reached at 739-2221 or mhodgson@santamariatimes.com.

August 16, 2008