This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Jimmy Green felt like he lost his identity.

Back in 1987, while serving the U.S. Army in Fort Lewis, Washington, Green became a paraplegic when he was in the back of a vehicle that flipped and shattered his vertebrae.

As a former athlete, there was nothing harder than losing the ability to compete in sports.

Nine years later, at the 1996 National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Seattle, he not only formed a new identity, he also found a new purpose.

"It changed my total perspective," Green, now a 46-year-old veteran who traveled from Largo, Florida, to compete in the Veterans Wheelchair Games, which opened Monday morning in downtown Salt Lake City. The 36th annual event started with an exhibition basketball game on the south end of Vivint Smart Home Arena.

National Veterans Wheelchair Games National President of Paralyzed Veterans of America Al Kovach Jr. framed it best when he said that the Games exemplify "The triumph of the human spirit over physical limitations."

"If you get a grasp of the disabilities that guys have overcome here and to get on with their life, and enjoy their life … it's inspirational," Green said.

The National Veterans Wheelchair Games originated in 1981 as part of the "International Year of Disabled Persons" in Richmond, Virginia. That year, 74 veterans from 14 states collectively inaugurated the first class of athletes.

Now, in 2016, there are over 600 athletes registered to compete in sports ranging from basketball to quad rugby to table tennis to an obstacle course that challenges them to steer through daily life obstacles such as stairs.

It is currently the largest event of its kind in the world.

"I'm proud to be a part of it, I'm proud to be here to mentor the young," said Jeff DeLeon, a 36-year-old U.S. Navy Veteran who became a T6 paraplegic in 1999 after a car he was a passenger in flipped en route to a work assignment. "A severe disability doesn't mean your life is over, it just means your new life is starting."

Aimed to help empower and rehabilitate Veterans with Spinal Cord injuries, the Games have received increased local and national support every year.

"This gives them that opportunity to come here, have people from the community support and know what it's like," said DeLeon, who lives in Salem, Ore. "When they go back home, they don't feel awkward; they don't feel like people are staring because they've been out and they've seen it."

In addition to hosting Monday's event, the Jazz put some of their better known employees to work: Jazz broadcaster Craig Bolerjack did game introductions and analyst Ron Boone did play-by-play, and the Jazz dancers lent support from the sidelines.

This week, paralyzed veterans from all walks of life will showcase their talents, promote their community, and use the Games to connect with one another. Together, the collective hope is that each and every veteran takes this experience back to its own community to spread the awareness and cause.

"When I was 19, if you would have asked me what I'd give to start walking again, I would have given anything," DeLeon said. "You ask me now, I wouldn't give it back because I now have a connection to people who need that hope and inspiration."

Some served in World War II, and others more recently fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some are former athletes, and others are not.

But all those who have served are now here to compete for another cause — one that intertwines sports, community and education.

"Guys are able to come out and see that life continues," Green said. "It's not just about the sports, it's like a 600-plus family union."

Veterans Wheelchair Games events will take place throughout the week through July 2. All events are open to the public and admission is free.

For schedule information, go to http://www.wheelchairgames.org.