Josh Sweeney

Josh Sweeney grew up in a military family and like most military brats, he lived in a lot of places around the country. However, despite some of the warm weather climates he lived in he developed a great passion for hockey. After graduating from Ironwood High School in Glendale, Arizona in 2005 he joined the family business and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Sweeney went on to serve two deployments overseas in support of the Global War on Terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was injured during combat operations in 2009 while serving as a scout sniper with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines. His injuries were the result of an IED blast, which severed both of his legs and injured his left arm and hand. As a result he was awarded the Purple Heart for his injuries and medically discharged from the Marine Corps. However, as they say, once a Marine always a Marine, and he decided that despite his injuries he wanted to continue serving his country. That was when his love of hockey came back into play. Despite losing his legs while honorably serving his country, he trained and made the USA Paralympic Sled Hockey Team and helped the stars and stripes to a Gold Medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic games. He’s a true American hero.