For one Oak Harbor sailor, the 2026 Warrior Games started with a promise to his kids - MyNorthwest.com

Oak Harbor’s James Shoemaker faces the 2026 Warrior Games in San Antonio with a promise to his children as he competes in eight adaptive sports. The event runs June 13–20 and brings together more than 200 wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans, who will compete in archery, sitting volleyball, swimming, and track. Shoemaker, a retired Navy Aircrew Survival Equipmentman First Class, enters the competition in a wheelchair as part of Team Navy alongside athletes from the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Special Operations Command. Now in its 16th year, the Warrior Games are hosted by the Army Transformation and Training Command to showcase resilience through adaptive sport. The Navy Wounded Warrior program backs Team Navy, connecting injured sailors with care providers, command leaders, and peer support as they map the next steps. Shoemaker’s recovery story centers on family, perseverance, and finding belonging through adaptive athletics, a path that has helped him reconnect with a pre-injury life and community.