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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview with Captain Dave Rozelle

Aired December 13, 2003 - 09:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


RENAY SAN MIGUEL CNN ANCHOR: On the slopes in Breckenridge, Colorado, this week, disabled skiers and snowboarders, some of them U.S. troops who were wounded in Iraq. A sponsor of the event calls them miracles on the mountain.
Matt Renoux of our affiliate KUSA in Denver has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RENOUX, KUSA-TV, DENVER (voice-over): On the slopes of Breckenridge...

CAPT. DAVE ROZELLE, FORT CARSON SOLDIER: No, the rest of us are going to go.

RENOUX: ... Captain Dave Rozelle...

ROZELLE: I'm going to take off the skis and snowboard. I'll come back to walking and having to fight my disability.

RENOUX: -- is taking a big step. Before June, he was an expert skier and snowboarder.

ROZELLE: You know, I really learned to love skiing.

RENOUX: But today will be the first time this Fort Carson-based soldier who spent time in Iraq...

ROZELLE: I was a cavalry troop commander in Iraq in the war, and that's where I received my injury.

RENOUX: ... will be back on his board...

ROZELLE: On the mountain, I really don't feel it.

RENOUX: ... since a land mine took his right foot.

ROZELLE: I was leading my convoy that day, and like I usually do, and found the first land mine.

RENOUX: Captain Rozelle might have lost his foot...

ROZELLE: That night in the hospital bed, I thought about things.

RENOUX: -- and his command... ROZELLE: How is this going to change my life?

RENOUX: -- but not his will to ride.

ROZELLE: And I immediately thought, OK, December, it's about four months away from now, I'll ski before Christmas.

All right!

RENOUX: It's a similar story for many at the Disabled Sports Hartford Ski Spectacular...

ROZELLE: Everything to do with adaptive skiing is offered here.

RENOUX: ... a gathering of disabled skiers who lost limbs, but not a love for life.

ROZELLE: You can be active again. You can be all that you want to be with that disability.

RENOUX: Even more so, this group will tell you, while sliding down the slopes.

ROZELLE: Suddenly you can strap on some skis and do something as well as any nondisabled person.

RENOUX: It's freedom for Captain Rozelle...

ROZELLE: It's incredible, it's liberating.

RENOUX: ... whose foot is gone...

ROZELLE: This man is motivated.

RENOUX: ... but apparently still has plenty of heart.

ROZELLE: Wheee!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAN MIGUEL: Indeed. And that report from Matt Renou of CNN affiliate KUSA in Denver.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The snowboarder we saw there, Army Captain David Rozelle, is joining us now live from the snowy slopes of Breckenridge this morning.

And what a beautiful shot it is.

Thanks so much for being with us, captain. We appreciate your time. It was an excellent piece.

Let me ask you a little bit about the event. This is really a big deal. It happens every year at Breckenridge, but it is special this year. What does it feel like to be with some of your comrades up there? ROZELLE: It's a wonderful feeling to be up here with some other guys injured about the same time, you know. You get to see if you're making progress. And everybody up here is making such great progress. And the motto of Disabled Sports USA is, If I can do this, I can do anything. And when you stand on top of the mountain the first time and make those first tracks, it's absolutely the truth.

COLLINS: You really feel like that, huh?

ROZELLE: Absolutely. It's been really liberating for me personally, and, you know, when you ride the lift, and you're trying to find the courage to go down the first time, and you look over, and there's a blind skier on the lift with you that's part of the organization, and he's challenging you to race to the bottom, it's pretty easy to keep a sense of humor, you know.

COLLINS: Absolutely. And I can't imagine how motivating it must really be.

Let me also ask you a little bit about what kind of a skier you were before the accident, if you will, in Iraq.

ROZELLE: Well, I didn't do much skiing in Iraq. But before I went to Iraq, I had a -- I considered myself an expert. But coming here and having world-class instruction from some volunteers as part of DSUSA, I'm a better skier now than before, there's no doubt about it. In fact, I actually raced in a downhill race yesterday. So that's a big event for me personally.

COLLINS: Yes. I...

ROZELLE: To do something I wasn't able to do before, so...

COLLINS: Probably a little bit more aware of exactly what you're doing on those skis, huh? I was interested to know if you had skied before, though. On -- what about how it feels, you had mentioned in something that I had been reading about, at the bottom of the hill? Do things change a little bit for you once you get down?

ROZELLE: Yes, on the mountain, you know, I'm able to disguise my disability very well, I think. And then I get to the bottom, you know, and it's difficult to walk back into the lodge and everything, because I'm reminded of my prosthesis and my disability. But on skis and on a snowboard, I really don't feel that at all. It's so liberating.

COLLINS: You forget about it for a while, don't you?

ROZELLE: Absolutely. Absolutely. And that's -- you know, I hope that the other guys feel that way too. I know the guys especially in the wheelchairs, when they're up there on their monoskis, you know, they're not thinking about the fact they're disabled. In fact, they're passing me on the way down the mountain. So it definitely is something that you got just to see. It's incredible. COLLINS: Well, as you say, I know, that you spent a lot of time up in those mountains before. You are from Fort Carson, that's where you served most of your time.

But I was interested to know, in the piece that Matt Renou did, you talked a little bit about after the accident happened, and you were in your hospital bed, thinking about a lot of different things, what were some of those thoughts? Were they of the mountain? Were they of getting back up on two feet?

ROZELLE: Absolutely. You know, I've been an athlete all my life, and been in the Army for 10 years. So, you know, to be in the Army, you have to be an athlete in a lot of ways.

So the first thing I wanted to do was get back into sports and compete. And most importantly, in the hospital bed the first night, I really set some goals for myself. The doctor said, before he took my foot, he said, You know, Dave, when we take your foot, you'll be back up and running in a year.

And I took that to heart. So I sat down that night, or I laid there that night, and really thought through some goals, skiing by Christmas, running by the spring, take another command, get back in, you know, and serve my country some more, and then, you know, by summer, back playing rugby, is my goal. So we'll see how that goes.

COLLINS: Well, Captain Rozelle, you are well on your way. We certainly appreciate your time this morning. It's been a pleasure talking with you. Once again, the event at Breckenridge Sports Ski Spectacular. And what a spectacular thing it is. We appreciate it.

ROZELLE: Well, if I may, disabled veterans out there, get out there, take the challenge, get back on your feet, and then pay it back by volunteering. There's some great programs out there. Find them and get part of them.

COLLINS: Wonderful words of advice. Thanks so much, Captain Rozelle.

ROZELLE: Thank you, ma'am.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 13, 2003 - 09:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL CNN ANCHOR: On the slopes in Breckenridge, Colorado, this week, disabled skiers and snowboarders, some of them U.S. troops who were wounded in Iraq. A sponsor of the event calls them miracles on the mountain.
Matt Renoux of our affiliate KUSA in Denver has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RENOUX, KUSA-TV, DENVER (voice-over): On the slopes of Breckenridge...

CAPT. DAVE ROZELLE, FORT CARSON SOLDIER: No, the rest of us are going to go.

RENOUX: ... Captain Dave Rozelle...

ROZELLE: I'm going to take off the skis and snowboard. I'll come back to walking and having to fight my disability.

RENOUX: -- is taking a big step. Before June, he was an expert skier and snowboarder.

ROZELLE: You know, I really learned to love skiing.

RENOUX: But today will be the first time this Fort Carson-based soldier who spent time in Iraq...

ROZELLE: I was a cavalry troop commander in Iraq in the war, and that's where I received my injury.

RENOUX: ... will be back on his board...

ROZELLE: On the mountain, I really don't feel it.

RENOUX: ... since a land mine took his right foot.

ROZELLE: I was leading my convoy that day, and like I usually do, and found the first land mine.

RENOUX: Captain Rozelle might have lost his foot...

ROZELLE: That night in the hospital bed, I thought about things.

RENOUX: -- and his command... ROZELLE: How is this going to change my life?

RENOUX: -- but not his will to ride.

ROZELLE: And I immediately thought, OK, December, it's about four months away from now, I'll ski before Christmas.

All right!

RENOUX: It's a similar story for many at the Disabled Sports Hartford Ski Spectacular...

ROZELLE: Everything to do with adaptive skiing is offered here.

RENOUX: ... a gathering of disabled skiers who lost limbs, but not a love for life.

ROZELLE: You can be active again. You can be all that you want to be with that disability.

RENOUX: Even more so, this group will tell you, while sliding down the slopes.

ROZELLE: Suddenly you can strap on some skis and do something as well as any nondisabled person.

RENOUX: It's freedom for Captain Rozelle...

ROZELLE: It's incredible, it's liberating.

RENOUX: ... whose foot is gone...

ROZELLE: This man is motivated.

RENOUX: ... but apparently still has plenty of heart.

ROZELLE: Wheee!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAN MIGUEL: Indeed. And that report from Matt Renou of CNN affiliate KUSA in Denver.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The snowboarder we saw there, Army Captain David Rozelle, is joining us now live from the snowy slopes of Breckenridge this morning.

And what a beautiful shot it is.

Thanks so much for being with us, captain. We appreciate your time. It was an excellent piece.

Let me ask you a little bit about the event. This is really a big deal. It happens every year at Breckenridge, but it is special this year. What does it feel like to be with some of your comrades up there? ROZELLE: It's a wonderful feeling to be up here with some other guys injured about the same time, you know. You get to see if you're making progress. And everybody up here is making such great progress. And the motto of Disabled Sports USA is, If I can do this, I can do anything. And when you stand on top of the mountain the first time and make those first tracks, it's absolutely the truth.

COLLINS: You really feel like that, huh?

ROZELLE: Absolutely. It's been really liberating for me personally, and, you know, when you ride the lift, and you're trying to find the courage to go down the first time, and you look over, and there's a blind skier on the lift with you that's part of the organization, and he's challenging you to race to the bottom, it's pretty easy to keep a sense of humor, you know.

COLLINS: Absolutely. And I can't imagine how motivating it must really be.

Let me also ask you a little bit about what kind of a skier you were before the accident, if you will, in Iraq.

ROZELLE: Well, I didn't do much skiing in Iraq. But before I went to Iraq, I had a -- I considered myself an expert. But coming here and having world-class instruction from some volunteers as part of DSUSA, I'm a better skier now than before, there's no doubt about it. In fact, I actually raced in a downhill race yesterday. So that's a big event for me personally.

COLLINS: Yes. I...

ROZELLE: To do something I wasn't able to do before, so...

COLLINS: Probably a little bit more aware of exactly what you're doing on those skis, huh? I was interested to know if you had skied before, though. On -- what about how it feels, you had mentioned in something that I had been reading about, at the bottom of the hill? Do things change a little bit for you once you get down?

ROZELLE: Yes, on the mountain, you know, I'm able to disguise my disability very well, I think. And then I get to the bottom, you know, and it's difficult to walk back into the lodge and everything, because I'm reminded of my prosthesis and my disability. But on skis and on a snowboard, I really don't feel that at all. It's so liberating.

COLLINS: You forget about it for a while, don't you?

ROZELLE: Absolutely. Absolutely. And that's -- you know, I hope that the other guys feel that way too. I know the guys especially in the wheelchairs, when they're up there on their monoskis, you know, they're not thinking about the fact they're disabled. In fact, they're passing me on the way down the mountain. So it definitely is something that you got just to see. It's incredible. COLLINS: Well, as you say, I know, that you spent a lot of time up in those mountains before. You are from Fort Carson, that's where you served most of your time.

But I was interested to know, in the piece that Matt Renou did, you talked a little bit about after the accident happened, and you were in your hospital bed, thinking about a lot of different things, what were some of those thoughts? Were they of the mountain? Were they of getting back up on two feet?

ROZELLE: Absolutely. You know, I've been an athlete all my life, and been in the Army for 10 years. So, you know, to be in the Army, you have to be an athlete in a lot of ways.

So the first thing I wanted to do was get back into sports and compete. And most importantly, in the hospital bed the first night, I really set some goals for myself. The doctor said, before he took my foot, he said, You know, Dave, when we take your foot, you'll be back up and running in a year.

And I took that to heart. So I sat down that night, or I laid there that night, and really thought through some goals, skiing by Christmas, running by the spring, take another command, get back in, you know, and serve my country some more, and then, you know, by summer, back playing rugby, is my goal. So we'll see how that goes.

COLLINS: Well, Captain Rozelle, you are well on your way. We certainly appreciate your time this morning. It's been a pleasure talking with you. Once again, the event at Breckenridge Sports Ski Spectacular. And what a spectacular thing it is. We appreciate it.

ROZELLE: Well, if I may, disabled veterans out there, get out there, take the challenge, get back on your feet, and then pay it back by volunteering. There's some great programs out there. Find them and get part of them.

COLLINS: Wonderful words of advice. Thanks so much, Captain Rozelle.

ROZELLE: Thank you, ma'am.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com