Wounded Warriors Amputee Softball Team skydives with U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team

HOMESTEAD, Fla.- A WINK News exclusive that will tug at your patriotic heart strings. This isn’t a sad story about loss, even though the heroes you are about to meet all lost something.

They are the Wounded Warriors Amputee Softball Team. Their spirit and can-do attitude was so inspiring for WINK News, we jumped at the chance to bring you the story about the team. The U.S. Army’s elite parachute team invited the Wounded Warriors to be Army Golden Knights for a day.

After fighting for freedom, they found it 2 1/2 miles up into the sky.

“Jump time baby, jump time!”

“We jumped at 13,500 and popped the chute at 5,000. It was pretty cool, those guys rock. They are the best in the world,” said Cpl. Matt Kinsey.

“It was an adrenaline rush, you jump out and you look down and your like ‘OMG, there’s the earth!”‘

Danger is nothing new to these guys, they signed up for it. But putting on a jumpsuit and making that leap can rattle your nerves, even if you’ve done than it more than 3,000 times!

“It does get nerve wracking at times. There are times where I get in the door, and I’m like, ‘I’m fixing to do this.'”

But he does. SFC Chris Acevedo is good enough to be on the Golden Knights, the U.S. Army’s elite parachute demonstration team. Acevedo is even humbled by his guests.

“It’s an absolute honor, these guys just short of paying the ultimate sacrifice, they have done awesome stuff for our country,” Acevedo told WINK News.

The Golden Knights are active duty and can be deployed on a moment’s notice. Some already did. One Golden Knight is a Purple Heart recipient.

“I am still able to do my things, just a little slower,” said Staff Sergeant George Perez.

Staff Sergeant George Perez lost his left leg below the knee in Iraq.

“You feel free when you’re skydiving, you feel like you can do anything up here, and you really can,” said Perez.

A sacrifice made on deployment overseas, much like a couple of Wounded Warriors who were paratroopers in the Army.

“I can talk for the paratrooper guys, it’s going to be like ‘Welcome Home’ type of feel.'”

Skydiving with the Golden Knights is their first jump since their injury.

“That is freaking awesome. That is the coolest thing I have ever done in my life,” said Kinsey.

“How was it buddy? Good! Was it everything you expected? Oh yeah!”

One by one, the Wounded Warriors made the tandem jump, free falling at 120 miles per hour.

“I think the worst part is going to be the chute opening and you have to float down because I am scared of heights,” said Lance Cpl. Josh Wege.

For Southwest Florida’s very own hero, Lance Corporal Josh Wege, a double amputee, the nerves kicked in thinking about the rush towards the ground.

“I was flying like a bird, that’s what I was trying to do,” Wege told WINK News.

Now, as promised by the Golden Knights, the American War Heroes landed safety on the ground.

“It was an awesome rush.”

“I was trying so hard not to open up my mouth.”

“It’s something I would do 100 times over, you guys are the greatest.”

“I’m feeling great man, to jump with the Golden Knights is almost a dream come true. What a unique experience. I thank you guys for inviting us out today.”

A group with the Miami-Dade Police Department’s “Operation Support Our Wounded Warriors” set up the sky dive. Four of them jumped as well.