CLAYTON, N.C. — Over the course of a lifetime, a veteran can see and endure many things.
One of those is war. There’s a lot of life to live once your service comes to an end, and Richard Arthur works hard to keep a sharp mind.
Now, he fights for his country in another way. Through the VA hospital, Arthur participates in the National Veterans Golden Age Games.
All it takes to compete is to be 55 or older, as well as receiving healthcare from a VA medical facility once a year. Men and women who have served can put their skills to the test in an array of sports challenges and competitions.
Arthur served in the Vietnam War as a marine. He said it’s through his service to his country he learned what it means to be a man of honor and duty. As he described his experiences in the military, he pointed to a scrapbook, including photos of him in uniform.
“Those are the only really older pictures I had from when I was in the service,” Arthur said.
It’s because of his time on the battlefield he was able to travel to a long list of states listed in that same scrapbook year-after-year to play in the games. For more than 20 years, he’s visited cities like Birmingham, Alabama, Houston, Texas, Topeka, Kansas and Orono, Maine.
The number of events he competed in over the years is long and wide. He says his best event was croquet.
“I had gold five years in a row,” Arthur said.
He said other veterans come back for the same reasons.
“The competition is a lot of fun because you are going up against the same people every year,” he said.
During 2020, the games were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It's something we look forward to,” he said, referring to his wife Jackie. He said she joins him almost every time.
“It's really nice to have her along with us,” he said, adding that without her, there wouldn’t even be a scrapbook of memories.
The couple has been married for 52 years and made a couple of adjustments for this year’s competition. Not long ago, he had knee replacement surgery on his left knee. He goes to rehab at least once a week at the VA.
The second change to this year’s event is partly because of the first. He can’t go to the annual games in person because of the swelling to his recovering knee. Even though he is vaccinated, this year he has the option to submit his event, the air rifle, online.
As he fired away at a target in his backyard, he talked about how nothing compares to going to new locations each year to play.
“I miss not going to the games this year,” he said.
To make sure he could somehow play in this year’s games, his son recorded him in his backyard in order to qualify for his 22nd year of competition.
“Win or lose, it’s still been fun and I had a good time doing it,” he said.
He said loves to practice outside his home in what he called his sanctuary of silence.
”It’s good for me. It keeps me out of my wife’s hair. It’s quiet out here. I’m by myself. It’s just me, the gun, the pellet and the target. Nobody talks back to me if I miss. No big deal. There’s going to be another shot and I don’t miss often,” he said.
What he really wants is to make sure others who defended their nation like him sign up to participate in the NVGAG. He said once you get a taste, you will want to come back again and again.
“Just picture the most fun you had in the last year and double it. That’s what’s going to happen when you go to the games,” he said.
The competition is designed to improve the health and quality of life for retired servicemen and women. Even on one good knee, he’s winning with or without the medals.
The VA Medical System acts as the host. To compete all you have to do is receive a medical exam. The 2021 games started June 21 in Madison, Wisconsin and will run through June 26.