"As a soldier representing your country on the battlefield, now representing as an athlete -- I love the country, just to wear that flag one more time,” he said
In his downtime, Winkler takes his message to others with disabilities in something called the Paralympic Experience.
Athletes young and old come from all over the country to learn about sports, and to be inspired.
Winkler says sports are an excellent way for someone with a disability to let off steam, and help with development – whether it’s for fun, or competition.
Brad Rhodes is one injured war veteran who competes in weight lifting.
He made the trip to North Myrtle Beach from Florida to participate.
"You can still get up and do stuff, you don't have to lay around and feel sorry for yourself no more,” Rhodes said. “It gives you the opportunity to compete and show yourself that you can still do it."
17 year old Sean Burns has been doing it since he was four.
The Charlotte native has been in a wheelchair his whole life due to a condition acquired at birth.
“I just don't walk around, I roll around,” Burns said. “I do the same things, probably more than most people do, actually."
Burns is headed to the University of Alabama in the fall on a scholarship to play wheelchair basketball.
It’s one of a handful of schools in the country with a team.
“I've never really been away that long by myself,” he said. “But I'm also excited because I get to start a new part of my life and play basketball at the same time."
Whether they were born with a disability, or are veterans like himself – Winkler shares the same message with all of them: Nothing is impossible.
"It’s like ‘I did it, I feel great, yes let's do it, let's do something else’ -- it's always challenging yourself."
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