Rick Monroe awarded commander's trophy at National Amputee Golf Association Tournament.

The first thing I remember saying to my dad when he visited me in the hospital after the accident was, 'Dad, we won't be able to golf together anymore,"' Rick M. Monroe said.

Rick didn't know it at the time, but nothing could have been further from the truth. He would golf with his father again, many times.

A life member of DAV Chapter 219 in Austin, Texas. Rick's love of the game. competitive spirit, and skilled play have earned him the 2005 DAV National Commander's Trophy. National Commander Paul W. Jackson made the presentation at the awards banquet during the 57th National Amputee Golf Association Invitational Championships at Bethpage State Park Golf Course, Bethpage, N.Y.

The NAGA is supported in part by a grant from the DAV Charitable Service Trust and reflects our continuing commitment to rehabilitation of disabled veterans through sports and recreation.

Rick Joined the U.S. Navy in 1971. He served aboard the USS Enterprise during combat operations off the coast of Vietnam from 1971 to 1973.

He was involved in a single vehicle accident while transferring duty stations from Alameda, Calif. to Bremerton Wash.

"I was going through a curve when I lost control of the motorcycle I was driving and crashed into a guardrail," Rick said. "The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the Oakland Navy Hospital."

The young petty officer third class had broken all the bones in his right arm and damaged the nerves from the spinal cord. The arm was later amputated.

He remained in the hospital approximately five months and was medically retired from the Navy in November 1973.

Following his disability retirement, Rick returned to his native Texas and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management at Texas Tech University in 1975. It was the same year he married Arlene, his wife of 30 years.

Nearly five years passed after the injury before Rick started trying to golf again. His father had started him playing at five or six years of age, and golf had always been a part of his life. He had come to cherish the golf he and his father played together and lie did not want that part of his life to be over.

"The hardest part of getting back into the game was getting past the fear of embarrassing myself," hick said. "Now my greatest satisfaction is the competition."

That competition includes his 1992 win of an individual match tournament against all players at Onion Creek Golf Course in Austin. Rick also shot his best round at Onion Creek this year. It was a 73, 3 over par for 18 moles. Oh yes, then there's that hole in one lie just added to his list of golfing accomplishments in September. Rick is still smiling about that one. On a more serious note Rick joined other amputee golfers, in conjunction with the San Antonio Parks Department and Brooke Army Medical Center, to do a golf clime for military members who had suffered amputations as a result of wounds and injuries received during their service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"To see the smiles on their faces when they see they can lilt a golf ball was a tremendous experience for me.

"We have done a couple of the clinics now, and the soldiers are very receptive to playing golf. They want to learn--you can see the tire in their eyes--see them realizing life isn't over because they are amputees. They want to play. It is great to help make golf a pact of their lives." he said.

After 50 years of playing the game, Rick certainly knows what a satisfying part of one's life golf can be. Receiving the National Commander's Trophy is a big part of that satisfaction.

"I was shocked," Rick said. "I had no idea I would receive the award. I was thrilled to death to win."

The DAV National Commander's Trophy is awarded annually to a disabled veteran who best represents the credo "Ability not Disability" and recognizes the individual's community contributions in furthering opportunities for disabled veterans. It is awarded to disabled veterans like Rick Monroe. a man who will tell you golf is a game that can last a lifetime and then will be happy to teach you how to play.