Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/207831
Sarasota News Leader November 8, 2013 Although he and his wife, Samantha Chambers, live outside Washington, D.C., now, Thom spent most of his life "next to the beach," he says. He grew up as a military brat in the Philippines; Okinawa, Japan; and California. Later, as a Marine himself, he lived in the coastal area of Sneads Ferry, NC. Asked about the rowing, he responds, "It's definitely more demanding than I thought. … I was out there for about 20 minutes, and I almost jumped out of the boat. … It was like the ground was breathing, it was so hot [that day]." Thom's broad smiles and laughs punctuate the conversation. It is easy for a reporter to overlook the fact that he has lost both legs above the knee, the result of an Improvised Page 96 Explosive Device (IED) explosion in Kandahar, Afghanistan. This is not Thom's first visit to Sarasota. He marked that event about two years ago, he added, thanks to Operation Second Chance. Referring to Kenney, Thom adds with another laugh, "He always asks me, so I can't say, 'No.'" And Thom remembers his first visit to Benderson Park. "It was all dirt mounds." Kenney and another Operation Second Chance volunteer drove Thom and other wounded veterans around the same area where the USRowing Masters events were under way that morning. "At the time, [Kenney] was telling us what it would be … and I thought that was pretty cool." Maj. Kevin Kenney (left) helps steady a rowing vessel as other volunteers prepare to help Dustin Magner (second from right) get aboard. Photo by Rachel Hackney