“We give all we have, lives, property, safety, skills...we fight, we die, for a simple thing. Only that a man can stand up.”

The statement in Esther Forbes’ Johnny Tremain is enough to make anyone proud of what veterans have done for the United States by putting their lives on the line for the security of a nation.

At the Paralyzed Veterans of America Lone Star Chapter in Garland, standing up goes beyond the literal meaning and into the purest form of the phrase – never backing down and being true to oneself and one’s country.

Talk about taking a stand.

The PVA in Garland, which was chartered in 1989, is host to the nation’s only wheelchair-bound honor guard and the veterans still dress in full attire to show the pride in their country.

On Wednesday, the paralyzed members from various branches of the armed services will join each other downtown and give their respect to the flag and nation.

While a chair may be holding them down, it is their strength of both mind and body that always enables these veterans to stand up.

There is no can’t

Ted Smith of Garland was in Germany when his life was changed in an automobile accident in 1991. By 1992, he was discharged from the Army with the final rank of Staff Sergeant promotable.

At first, the shock of his paralysis did not start coming to him until he began his rehabilitation. It was here when some of the frustrations of his injury began taking hold of him.

However, when Smith returned to Texas, he found the Lonestar Chapter PVA and saw a new life before him.

“It opened up my eyes to the things I could do,” Smith said.

No longer was can’t the operative word for him; it was could.

Meeting other recently injured veterans gives Smith and other members of the PVA a chance to be a pillar of support for those experiencing the early stages of trauma.

“I like being able to meet people who are recently injured and let them know there are things you can do,” Smith said.

Today, he is involved in wheelchair sports and activities and actively participates in these games.

Forget modesty

Over the phone, his voice sounds like that of a radio personality – strong, resounding and deep.

These are the stern vocals that would come from a platoon leader in the cavalry.

After an injury, the voice of the man who once stood at six feet now comes from somebody in a chair at waist height.

However, upon making eye contact, he still is that six-foot tall Scout ready to take on the challenges of combat.

Glen Bentley is the executive director of the Lone Star Chapter PVA and he has learned to take the good with the bad in the time since his injury.

“It is a big reality shock to a guy,” Bentley said, “You are used to hanging stuff on walls, cutting the grass and doing stuff for yourself.”

When he lost use of his legs, he realized that some of the independent actions were gone.

“The first time I went to a grocery store, I found I couldn’t reach past the second shelf,” he said. “I was too proud and figured if I couldn’t reach it, I didn’t need it.”

He has since come to find out that getting over yourself is one the first obstacles that any person with a spinal injury, veteran or not, must overcome.

“I tell people, your modesty ends at the door. If you were shy and modest before your injury, it ends here.”

Independence road

When Jared Schmidt would get on his motorcycle and hit the road, it was him and the pavement.

He could take any vehicle and make it his own. Car, bike or truck, it didn’t matter.

On Sept. 14, 2006, the young Sergeant from Ardmore, Okla., was shot in combat in Iraq and became a wartime statistic.

Only about 25 percent of paralyzed veterans are injured in combat and Schmidt, a parent of a 1-year-old, is one of those few.

Currently, he is finding that while asking for help is required while in a chair, the freedom of the open road is one joy that he can take on his own as soon as he masters the new driving technique.

“I’m like a 16-year-old chomping at the bit,” Schmidt said. “It will be so much easier to go and do on my own and I won’t always have to rely on somebody.”

While he is still getting control over operating a vehicle solely with his hands, he knows the sound of wind blowing through an open window is not far away.

Marcus Murphree is the editor of Garland/Wylie/Sachse neighborsgo and can be reached at 469-330-5692 or via e-mail at mmurphree@neighborsgo.com. Got a story, photo or video you'd like to share? Post them directly on neighborsgo.com. Got a story idea? Send it to me directly. For more about how neighborsgo.com works with our neighborsgo print editions, please visit neighborsgo.com/help.