Warriors are taking over Disney World this week

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort.

Daniel Eaton found his peace in the water.

The military base pool was quiet. Practicing his strokes cleared his head. The Pensacola native felt calm. Eaton was thankful just to be moving again.

Last year, a car veered off the road, over the bus lane and onto the sidewalk where Eaton was walking his two dogs that morning before his shift started. His job was to help build runways and bases in remote locations.

Eaton doesn’t remember much, other than seeing the blue sky and his dead German Shepherd and Dachshund when he woke up. The hit-and-run driver was gone, never found, never punished. And Eaton’s body was broken. 

The list of Eaton’s ailments was long. A traumatic brain injury, broken ribs, two broken vertebrae in his neck, a collapsed left lung, a lacerated spleen, internal bleeding, his spine now unstable.

“Five of my vertebrae are fused together with bolts and rods, and then there’s like a bone graft inside of it to basically fuse it together,” said Eaton, a 28-year-old U.S. Air Force staff sergeant based in Nevada who has served multiple deployments to Iraq, Korea and other locations since joining the military in 2015.

Eaton’s marathon running days were over, but over time, his body began healing. 

“I’ve dealt with neurologists. I’ve dealt with orthopedic doctors. I’ve dealt with psychologists. I’ve dealt with just various different doctors, and I’m so thankful for all of them,” Eaton said. 

They encouraged him to swim, cycle and walk. Now, 13 months after his serious injuries, he’s stronger and ready to compete in the pool.

Eaton will be one of 230 athletes at the Department of Defense’s Warrior Games at Walt Disney World starting Friday through June 30. The public is invited to attend the free athletic showcase of active-duty military and veterans competing in wheelchair basketball, swimming, track and other sports.

It’s the second time Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports has hosted the Games since 2022. And Disney’s connection to the military runs deep.

“We are humbled to again welcome these heroic service members and veterans, their families and supporters to ESPN Wide World of Sports,” said Walt Disney World Resort President Jeff Vahle in a past statement. “Their sacrifice has allowed us the freedoms we enjoy daily, and we are honored to be able to witness their spirit of determination, boldness and loyalty come alive during the games.”

The athletes are resilient. Some people are double amputees, while others survived car crashes and cancer or other hardships, said Shawn Sprayberry, a spokesman for the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program.

“They’re here despite all that and competing at this level, which, as far as I’m concerned …  this is like the Super Bowl for wounded warriors,” Sprayberry said.

For Eaton, he will swim multiple distances, race track in his wheelchair and cycle. His family from Pensacola and his wife will be cheering him on and will visit the Magic Kingdom with him.

“I’m with a lot of people that can relate to the injuries I have sustained, physically and mentally,” Eaton said. “We’re just out there having a good time and just enjoying life and grateful that we’re still here.”

Before the hit-and-run, Eaton wasn’t a swimmer. Now as he talks about running, swimming and cycling in the Warrior Games and his continuing recovery, he talks about a dream to work toward. Maybe, just maybe, he could do an Iron Man someday.