[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 81 (Thursday, May 12, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2489-S2490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                         TRIBUTE TO DAN CNOSSEN

 Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, last week, leaders across Washington 
have gathered to celebrate our Team USA Olympic and Paralympic athletes 
during the 2022 Winter Games. In that spirit, today, I want to both 
recognize and congratulate Lieutenant Commander and Kansan Dan Cnossen 
on his recent gold medal victory for the United States in the mixed 
relay cross-country event at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
  While this accomplishment itself is worthy of our praise, it is Dan's 
journey leading up to this remarkable achievement that renders this 
feat all the more outstanding and commendable.
  A fifth-generation Kansas farm kid and graduate of Shawnee Heights 
High School in Tecumseh, Dan attended the U.S. Naval Academy, 
completing the rigorous and physically excruciating BUD/S program to 
commission as a Navy SEAL. He reached the rank of lieutenant commander 
and was serving as a platoon commander for Seal Team ONE in Afghanistan 
where his life was forever changed as a result of his service to our 
Nation.
  In September of 2009, Lieutenant Commander Cnossen was severely 
injured when he stepped on an IED in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was 29 
years old. He woke up 8 days later to learn that both of his legs had 
been amputated just above the knee.
  Imagine that. Imagine waking up back in the U.S. to realize the life 
you always knew and the future you had envisioned had changed forever. 
Imagine being one of the most physically and mentally advanced 
soldiers, only to have that change in an instant--because of one single 
step.
  Despite the extent of his injuries and though his life had changed 
forever, Dan did not give up. Or, as his fellow SEALS would say, he 
never ``rang the bell.'' Dan relearned how to walk with new and 
unfamiliar prosthetic legs and attacked every opportunity in life with 
vigor and determination. But the road was long, and it was never 
steady. Not giving up was a choice that had to be made each moment of 
each day.

[[Page S2490]]

  In a moving article from the Washington Post that covers Cnossen's 
journey, author Dave Sheinin writes: ``What pulled him through was the 
same brick-by-brick mentality that had gotten him through Hell Week 
years earlier and the first few weeks after the injury, as well as a 
relentless positivity that had allowed him to convince himself that was 
a winning strategy.''
  Following his injury, Dan excelled as an athlete because of this 
exceptionally tough mental fortitude, winning seven Paralympic medals, 
including two gold medals, over three Winter Games. Lieutenant 
Commander Cnossen's success during his service and in this next chapter 
in athletics is more than worthy of our praise and serves as a reminder 
to each of us the sacrifice of our veterans as well as sets an example 
for overcoming adversity in our lives.
  Dan himself said, ``You learn during Hell Week that whatever you 
thought your limits were, they're actually further away than that.''
  Lieutenant Commander Cnossen's journey has been an inspiration to me 
and to Kansans and continues to inspire athletes everywhere.
  I extend the warmest congratulations to him on his outstanding 
performance at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, and wish him the very 
best in his future endeavors.

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