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Wounded Veterans Compete In The Valor Games In Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Wounded veterans come to Chicago from all over the country this week to compete in the Valor Games.

CBS2's Charlie De Mar reports on how there's more to the games than just a competition. And here, distance is not measured in feet or inches.

For these athletes, competing in the valor games has big meaning.

"It's like family," Valor Games athlete Hector Bruno said.

They do multiple sports, but it's all about proof of how far they've already come from their military days.

"I got hurt in Vietnam. I got hit by a rocket and lost my legs," said Johnnie Alexander, a Valor Games athlete. "My friends died there. My legs are there."

"We connect ... we know what we went through," Bruno says. "We know the feeling how much we suffered, but I think we take it in stride ... made us better men."

Bruno served in the U.S. Army in the 1970s, stationed in Germany.

"Came home, I was on leave and I was at a party and  got shot come all the way from service in Germany and got shot at a party in Chicago," he said.   

Now the two are bonded forever through a wheelchair and through the Valor Games.

"More than the sport it's meeting friends," Alexander said.

The Valor Games will be in Chicago through Thursday.

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