Corsicana-native Sgt. 1st Class John Joss III is hoping his third Paralympics is a charm when it comes to winning a medal.
Competing in the Olympics was a childhood dream for Joss.
“Growing up, I was always pretty good with rifles. I was born overseas, but I was raised in Texas and the part of Texas I was in [Corsicana], firearms are just kind of part of life,” Joss said. “I got pretty good with firearms early on and then joined the Army. Specifically, in a job that dealt with firearms being an instrument and when I got picked up on the Army marksmanship unit, I had never seen some of these match rifles they were dealing with. It didn’t take me long to get proficient. Once I’d won my first World Cup, I think it was like five or six months after I started, I realized that the Paralympic dream would be attainable for me.”
He never imagined his dream would come to fruition in this way. Joss nearly lost his life when he was injured in a deployment in Iraq in 2007.
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“We were in Iraq in a little place and we were doing a vehicle-mounted patrol and I, we got hit with an IED. It was a complicated ambush,” Joss said.
He survived and others didn’t, but he said his decision to serve his country is one that he will never regret.
“I joined the military soon after 9/11 [September 11, 2001]. I just wanted to serve my country. I really don’t brag about any of my accolades. It's just not who I am. Honestly, my mother kind of gets bothered by it because she thinks it is something everyone should know,” Joss said.
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The Paris Paralympics will be Joss’ third attempt at a medal in rifle. The first was at the Rio Paralympics in 2016 and then again in 2021 at the Tokyo Paralympics. He said Paris is probably going to be his last go at it.
“It’s more like for me, it's just, you know, get out there and do your best and try not to have any pressure because regardless, it’s your last time,” Joss said.
Here's how to watch the Paralympics Opening Ceremony.
