Injured U.S. military veterans found relief and awe swimming with a whale shark, manta rays, and goliath groupers at the Georgia Aquarium, experiencing the healing power of water and wildlife through the Wounded Warrior Project.
The swim, held on Wednesday at the Atlanta aquarium, provided the service members with a much-needed respite from recovery and life's stresses. The Wounded Warrior Project supports injured and wounded veterans and their families.
Jason Bush, manager of the aquarium's Military Salute program, which brings armed forces members to swim or dive with marine animals weekly, said, "It gives them 30 or 40 minutes to just relax. Whether it's swimming or scuba diving, you're weightless, so physically it takes away even for a moment the physical pain you feel on land."
The veterans snorkeled or swam with Yushan, the giant whale shark, stingrays, and other marine animals. Rescued from a Taiwanese fish market years ago, Yushan is the only whale shark in captivity in the Western Hemisphere, according to aquarium officials.
Bush noted, "They go in nervous and come out saying it's the best experience they've had in their life."
William Mund, a U.S. Marine gunnery sergeant wounded in Iraq, said the water helps his blood flow and described the swim as a "once-in-a-lifetime thing."
U.S. Army Col. Quentin Collins, wounded twice in Iraq—once by a mortar and again by an improvised explosive device—is paralyzed. He joyfully recounted his favorite part: "surfing" with the whale shark. "Its wake pulled me with it. I was swimming forward, and the next thing I know, I'm going backwards, and I realized the whale shark is right below me."
Collins had not been in the water since 2020 due to his injuries. His son, Ian Collins, witnessed the moment. "It's a wonderful thing to see my dad being able to enjoy things he couldn't anymore. It's a great thing to see," he said.
