By Jason Strickland
Chief Amplifier
His tenure of military service was brief, but his status as a disabled Veteran will last the rest of his life.
Jeremy Trammell, Jr., affectionately known as “JJ” by his family – and as “Wheels” by the staff at The Original Pancake House in Cincinnati where he and his family eat every Sunday after church – will participate in his second National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic this week.
His journey to this place in his life has been anything but ordinary.
Trammel’s military aspirations were clear from a young age. After four years of high school Junior ROTC, he was eager to serve his country. He first knocked on the door of the local Air Force recruiter but was turned away for not having an appointment. Jeremy said, “[Expletive] the Air Force!” and without hesitation walked next door to the U.S. Navy, where he was welcomed as a future sailor with open arms.
Trammel enlisted as submarine mechanic in November 2022, but six months later, while stationed at Naval Submarine Base New London in Connecticut, his life changed in an instant.
A devastating motorcycle accident left him in a three-month medically induced coma. His recovery journey took him from Walter Reed in Washington, DC, to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. Over the next year he relearned how to talk, eat, and navigate daily life paralyzed from the chest down.
But Trammel refused to let his circumstances define him and his new normal now includes downhill skiing. As part of his rehabilitation at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, his recreational therapist encouraged him to attend the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic (https://wintersportsclinic.org), a decision that would prove life changing.
"He felt alive. He was himself again,” his mother and caregiver, Maria Trammell, shared about his experience at his first Winter Sports Clinic in 2024.
The Winter Sports Clinic, co-presented by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and DAV (Disabled American Veterans), is one of several rehabilitation events which seek to optimize veterans’ independence, well-being, and quality of life.
Veterans from across the country arrive at the Winter Sports Clinic with significant injuries from their time in the military and after service: amputations, visual impairments traumatic brain injuries, and every kind of profound disability you can imagine.
“The accommodations for him were amazing,” Maria Trammel said of the instructors and safety staff at the event. Staff ensure each participating Veteran is fitted safely and comfortably for the various adaptive sit skis they use to race down the mountain.
At just 21 years, Trammel is the youngest participant at the clinic this year. Asked if he was excited about returning to the event, he said, “I’m so normal. I can do this stuff!”
Trammel is just one of 10,000 Veterans the clinic has served for the past 39 years. This year, more than 100 of the nearly 370 Veterans participating are in Snowmass for the first time. Usually a bit apprehensive to attend, and hesitant to attempt an endeavor beyond perceived limitations, once they arrive on the slopes, they experience the clinic’s mantra: “Miracles on a Mountainside.”
To use the term “miracles” may be considered hyperbole, but to see Veterans like JJ overcome the mountain on a sit-ski or to hear a mother’s voice filled with hope as her son regains his freedom – is anything but a coincidence.
It happens because of dedicated VA recreation therapists, physical therapists, and clinicians who craft comprehensive programs to make a Veteran’s life as normal as possible. It’s about sponsors donating time and resources to make this event happen. It’s about volunteers who give up a week of their lives to spend time with those who gave up so much more in service to their country.
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