Surfs Up And So Is Morale For Wounded Veterans in Virginia

Surfing at Va. Beach Oceanfront helps vets cope with injuries
The Virginian-Pilot
By Elisabeth Hulette
© May 31, 2015

VIRGINIA BEACH
How does a triple amputee get up on a surfboard?

Easy, said 32-year-old Luis Rosa-Valentin, who lost an arm and both legs in a roadside explosion about seven years ago in Baghdad. You just pop up into a sitting position, balance and ride the wave to shore.

"I love being in the water," Rosa-Valentin said Saturday during the Wave Warriors Surf Camp that took over the beach by Rudee Loop. "There's nothing else in this world that I love more."

Of all the ways wounded veterans cope with injuries physical and mental, the Wave Warriors crew says becoming one with the sea is a pretty good way to go.

Ken Hunt, who helped launch the nonprofit seven years ago, said that out in the surf, stress and trauma just melt away.

"We call it saltwater treatment," he said. "It is so therapeutic. For us, it is a simple way to give back."

Preston Schofield, a 58-year-old from Tampa, Fla., who fell out of a helicopter and injured his back, said meeting other veterans at the event is good for morale.
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