Resilience and Recon: The Inspiring Journey of Davey Lind
In this week’s Team Never Quit episode, Marcus and Melanie meet with Master Sergeant Davey Lind, a United States Marine, combat veteran, and motivational leadership speaker whose life story is a testament to resilience, courage, and the power of perseverance.
Born and raised in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Davey embarked on his military journey immediately after high school, joining the Marine Corps in 1989. Over the years, he honed his skills and leadership as a Recon Marine, serving in pivotal roles from scout to team leader and participating in key operations, including Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the Iraq War.
On June 14, 2007, Davey’s life changed forever when a pressure plate IED in Iraq led to the loss of his legs below the knees. Incredibly, he took his first steps just two months after the injury and has continued to inspire others with his unyielding spirit and dedication to recovery and service.
Today, Davey is a sought-after motivational speaker, sharing lessons learned from the battlefield and life, focusing on leadership, adaptability, and grit. He resides in Corona, California, with his wife Lisa and their four children, where he continues to make a difference in the private sector with his involvement with PXG Golf. It became a great outlet for him and something to look forward to. He is actively involved in helping veterans heal in the context of golf outings and they have made more friends and memories from various golf adventures.
Join us as we dive into Davey’s incredible journey, from the challenges of combat to overcoming life-altering injuries and emerging as a beacon of strength and inspiration.
In This Episode You Will Hear:
• 35 in the Marine Corps, that’s old. (14:04)
• We were part of a surge in the summer of ’07, and my vehicle struck and activated a pressure plate IED. This IED went off directly underneath me, and from that blast I became a double leg amputee. (15:02)
• I rolled over on my back to try to use my left leg to push, and when I tried to do that, that’s when I realized my left leg was gone. (24:50)
• I’m married, I have kids, I have goals, and I was immediately aware of how challenging my life was gonna be. (25:17)
• As a platoon sergeant, I was armed with both a rifle and pistol. That pistol was on my hip, and I had the conscious thought to end my life right there. I could do it before they could finish working on me. (25:33)
• I had a very clear moment of calming, reflection of “everybody did their best.” I’m just gonna die here on the battlefield. (26:54)
• My initial assessment was “You’re gonna walk in about 10 months to a year. (33:32)
• Being in a wheelchair, even as a gunny, is like the kids table at Thanksgiving. Nobody’s talking to you; they’re talking about you. (35:08)
• There’s a great relationship you have to have with your prosthetic doctor. The fit has to be tight, but not too tight. Then there’s alignment. There’s a lot that goes into it. (37:39)
• Guys like me – a double leg amputee, I call guys that are single leg below the knee – we refer to that as a paper cut. (38:48)
• Perspective is everything. (39:35)
• I was able to retire though, which is important because I did a full 20 years, 6 months, and 3 days of active duty time. (46:15)
• In 2018 I got one of the greatest phone calls I’ve ever received. Kevin Hudson from PXG called me and said, “We got a program going on - PXG Heroes. If I help you with this program, do you think you could golf a little bit more, and talk about the program, and introduce people to PXG. Would you be willing to do that? (48:19)
• Golf is the only thing you can do competitively for the rest of your life. (62:45)
• [Marcus] In the beginning you wonder why you got hit. You got hit so you can show people what it’s like and stay up. (65:14)
Socials:
- Website: http://www.daveylind.com/about.html
- Website: https://www.pxg.com/
- IG: davey_lind
- IG: pxg
- IG:team_neverquit , marcusluttrell , melanieluttrell , huntero13
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