Jim Martinson hates to preach.

He'd much rather let his life experience speak for him. And it speaks loudly.

As a double amputee, the 64-year-old Vietnam veteran has competed in Mono Skiing in the Winter X games, won the Boston Marathon wheelchair division in 1981 and finished second three times, and won track gold medals at the Paralympics in 1980 and 1984.

After losing his legs and part of his right index finger to a Bouncing Betty landmine in 1968, Martinson has made the most of his situation.

"You have to be thankful for everything you have," he said. "You're alive for a reason, so you might as well make the best of it."

In a nutshell, that's the one message that Martinson wants other disabled veterans to garner from his life experience.

"I have accepted what I am," said Martinson, a Sumner native who spent time recovering at Madigan Army Medical Center after flying home from Vietnam. "Whatever my family does, I want to be involved with. I try and look at what I can do."

From the early stages of his injury, Martinson stayed upbeat. Friends and family from nearby Sumner constantly cycled through his room at Madigan.

"None of those guys were going to let me mope around," he said. "Nobody ever let me have a chance to feel sorry for myself."

Through various speaking engagements and socializing with other veterans at American Lake Golf Course, Martinson, who now lives in Puyallup, still exudes that same positivity and a never-say-die instinct. He understands some of the feelings veterans may be battling when first coming to terms with their disability.

"Sometimes it's a little bit embarrassing to go back and do something that you were good at (before the injury)," he said. "It's humbling ... but it's a great opportunity to start over."

Martinson didn't consider himself a student. He went to college after high school to avoid being drafted, but eventually dropped out. After losing his legs, Martinson went back to school and eventually earned a business degree from Multnomah Bible College in Portland.

"I would have never gone to college had I not gotten hurt," said Martinson, who went on to start up his own wheelchair company that he sold in 1992.

And with as many educational and financial resources new veterans have within their reach, there's no excuse for them not bettering themselves, he said.

"Never in the history of the American soldier have they been given so much - and they deserve it," Martinson said.

Now a regular at the American Lake, Martinson added golf to his hobbies two years ago.

He travels the course on a specialized golf cart and gets a thrill from each solid golf shot he hits.

"You are what you are," Martinson said. "I wouldn't change anything."