Nick Kimmel has a passion for golf. He's been playing since he was five years old and was shooting in the 60s on a regular basis. The only thing he may have a greater passion for was being a Marine. He enlisted in 2008.
"I think the big thing that sold be on the Marine Corps was the patriotism part because we were dead in the middle of a war," Kimmel said. "I also liked the travel. I've been to over 25 countries."
When Nick joined the military, he envisioned it would be his career. That is until tragedy struck in 2011.
"I was standing on the forks of a forklift putting a roof on a guard post, and when I jumped off," he said. "I landed on 40 pounds of homemade explosives."
In the explosion, he lost both of his legs and his left arm. He spent most of December that year at Walter Reed Hospital, but despite losing three limbs, he was able to keep a positive attitude.
"I never really looked at it as a detriment or got down on myself," Kimmel said. "My philosophy has always been, it is what it is, and you have to move forward."
Moving forward would include healing physically and mentally, and one way to do that was to get back out on the golf course. He hadn't picked up the clubs in five years, but the Semper Fi and America's Fund would provide the help he needed to return to the sport.
"I definitely thought I couldn't play golf anymore," he said. "Like I said, I didn't even pick up a club for years or even have an interest in it. I didn't want to be mediocre."
The non-profit helped him and his family financially and steered him towards sports and the Team Semper Fi Program.
"You got to push forward, and when you find something like this, it allows you to push a lot easier. It allowed me to block out all the negative and focus on one activity. I think the military did that to me to as well," Kimmel said. "Golf is just the same way, and it can be the same way for any sport or activity. Everyone always asks me how do you do that: re-learn to hit a golf ball. I'd say it's practice, repetition, and maybe just some athleticism."
While the loss of three limbs is life-changing, Nick says that if he had known back in 2008 when he enlisted, that he was going to get blown up, he still would have signed up for the Marine Corps.
"It builds your personality; it builds your character in a certain way that it's something I would never want to pass up on."
