Nine months later, he turned this tragedy into a triumph when he became the first double amputee to re-enlist in the United States
Army. Bowman re-enlisted in the United States Army airborne style, skydiving with his commander into the ceremony, making his dream
a reality. This achievement is just one example of Bowman’s many successes under adverse circumstances.
After Dana’s re-enlistment,
he became the U.S. Parachute Team’s lead speaker and recruiting commander. Dana has been fortunate to have the opportunity to let
his speeches touch so many from the physically challenged to the able-bodied. He strives to show physically challenged people can
still work and excel in today’s society and military. Dana emphasizes the words amputee and uselessness are not synonymous.
Dana
has given more than 400 speeches in the last few years and has been featured in magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Reader’s Digest,
People and many more. There have also been numerous television programs which focused on Dana and his story. Some of the programs
include: Dateline, A Current Affair, Real TV, NBC Person of the Week, Day and Date and Extra.
Dana retired from the United States Army
in 1996. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in commercial aviation at the University of North Dakota in May of 2000.
Dana spends
a great deal of his personal time working with other amputees and disabled or physically challenged people. "Dana inspires other amputees
to walk again. His future plans are to continue to speak to the public and fly helicopters.
IT’S NOT THE DISABILITY. . . IT’S THE ABILITY!