Oak Harbor veteran rebuilds life through adaptive sports at Warrior Games

Oak Harbor veteran James Shoemaker competed in the 16th annual Warrior Games in San Antonio, joining more than 200 wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans in a week built around recovery as much as competition. For Shoemaker, the event was another step back into athletic life after an injury left his nerves constantly sending pain signals and made running, exercise and even time spent out in the world difficult for years.

Shoemaker reached the Navy team through Navy Wounded Warrior, the Navy’s sole organization for coordinating non-medical care for seriously wounded, ill and injured Sailors and Coast Guardsmen. The program’s adaptive sports pathway includes introductory camps and Team Navy Trials, giving service members a structured route back into competition. A Navy recovery care coordinator encouraged Shoemaker to try out even though he was unsure how his body would respond.

At the Warrior Games, Shoemaker entered archery, track, swimming and sitting volleyball, four events that reflected both the range of adaptive sports and the physical demands still placed on athletes who are rebuilding after service-related injury. Official event materials said the 2026 competition featured 12 adaptive sports and brought together approximately 200 competitors from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard, Air Force, Space Force and U.S. Special Operations Command.

The local resonance is hard to miss in Oak Harbor and across North Whidbey. Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is the largest employer in Island County, and Oak Harbor is the county’s largest city, making military and veteran issues part of daily life for many families. In a community shaped by Navy service, Shoemaker’s path through adaptive sports reflects the way injury, rehabilitation and identity often overlap long after a uniform comes off.

The Warrior Games have existed since 2010 and later inspired the Invictus Games. Navy press materials said 30 Sailors and Coast Guardsmen represented Team Navy at the 2026 event, competing in sports including wheelchair basketball, swimming and cycling. For Shoemaker, the value of the week went beyond medals or rankings: it offered a place to test what his body could still do, and a reminder that injury can shape a life without defining it.