Nick Di Pietro, 72, is a Sequim resident.
Di Pietro is a disabled veteran who served during the Vietnam era, according to Sequim Gazette.
The Gazette reports that Di Pietro was injured in Korea when a South Korean family's car blew a front tire, crossed traffic and struck the jeep he was riding in head-on. The crash led to extensive facial reconstruction surgeries and major spinal damage, eventually requiring two spinal fusions, the outlet reports. “I'm a 100% disabled vet,” Di Pietro said.
Di Pietro’s Competitive Outlet
Di Pietro now plays table tennis regularly at the Historic Dungeness Schoolhouse. That local routine led to his entry this year in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' National Veterans Golden Age Games in Tampa, giving him an opportunity to compete nationally in a sport he practices close to home.
The Games include multiple sports for veterans ages 55 and older and drew roughly 1,300 competitors, many of them disabled veterans from across the military, according to the Gazette. Di Pietro competed in table tennis in the 70–74 age category.
What the Games Are Designed to Do
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the agency began the National Veterans Golden Age Games in 1985 to underscore the preventive and therapeutic value of sports medicine for older veterans receiving VA care. The VA describes the event as a rehabilitation, fitness and wellness program and a showcase for the value of sports for veterans ages 55 and older. For veterans in Clallam County, the county says the Northwest Veterans Resource Center houses the Veterans Relief Fund, which provides emergency assistance to qualified veterans and their families: Clallam County.
A Difficult Start, Then a Medal
The Gazette reports that Di Pietro's registration was initially lost, requiring him to work through the problem to secure his place. At the Games, he won seven consecutive singles matches before fatigue set in after more than four hours of play. He finished third nationally and received a bronze medal.
Di Pietro said he is doing things he should not be able to do. His result in Tampa gave a national dimension to the table-tennis routine he has developed in Sequim, and he hopes the story encourages others dealing with disability and chronic pain.
