Injury doesn’t stop march to the sea

Dick Benoit

Thursday, March 7, 2002 | 8:26 a.m.

Persistence has paid off for a Western High School graduate whose lifelong dream of joining the Navy was nearly sunk by a sports injury.

Thomas Mate, son of Lynn Mate and grandson of Vee Speziale of Las Vegas, was recently sworn in to the Navy in a ceremony at the Castaways hotel during a dinner and meeting of the Navy League.

Mate, who graduated from Western in 2001, has been an enthusiastic member of the League's squadron of Sea Cadets since junior high school, and his goal has always been to serve his country in the Navy.

"He has been very dedicated to the unit and his dream and was the first member of the unit to achieve the rank of cadet chief petty officer," said retired Navy Chief Milt Jones, one of the group's advisers. Mate, an honor cadet, also was selected to participate in an exchange program with the Australian Sea Cadets and spent a two weeks with Australian cadets in Sydney last year.

His accomplishments in the Sea Cadets and dream of serving in the Navy were not be enough, however, to get him a passing score on an induction physical he underwent last year. Mate, who also lettered in football, swimming and wrestling while at Western, suffered a severe shoulder injury during his junior wrestling season. It required reconstructive surgery, including the implantation of artificial parts, in his shoulder.

The Navy doctors considered his reconstructed shoulder a chronic disability and considered him physically unfit for enlistment.

Undeterred, Mate applied for a waiver to the physical findings. It was rejected. He applied again. Again he was rebuffed. Then his grandmother started writing letters to anyone she thought might help plead her grandson's case, including Navy admirals and Nevada senators and Congress members. She included information about Mate's performance on the Western High swimming team after his surgery.

Mate competed in the 100-meter butterfly and the 100-meter backstroke While he did not bring home any first place ribbons last year, he did respectably at zone competition. When the Navy doctors took a final look at his physical results in light of his success competing in such shoulder-intensive swimming events, they gave Mate his waiver.

In recognition of the young man's persistence and tenacity in pursuing his dream, Cmdr. Ray Wynne, commander of Naval Recruiting District San Diego, made a special trip to Las Vegas last week to swear Mate in to the Navy in front of his fellow cadets and Navy League sponsors.

"I didn't know about the swearing-in ceremony until Monday," said Mate of the Tuesday night dinner. He said his cadet advisers and family secretly pre-arranged a night off for him with his employer so he could attend.

In brief