Sheppard Airman 1st Class Grant Morgan picks up where father left off

Airman 1st Class Grant Morgan, 82nd Security Forces Squadron entry controller, poses with his father, retired special operations weatherman Staff Sgt. Jason Morgan, and his service dog. Jason recently visited Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, where he did a book signing for his new book "A Dog Called Hope." (U.S. Courtesy Photo)

SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Airman 1st Class Grant Morgan doesn’t take anything for granted.

 From money to pay for college, to a chance to serve one’s country and make a difference, there are wide variety of reasons for joining the military. For Morgan, 82nd Security Forces Squadron entry controller, the influence that inspired him to join may be more personal than most. Grant’s father, Jason Morgan, served in the U.S. Air Force as a special operations weatherman until being medically retired. While serving with the Army’s Green Berets during a counter-narcotics operation in South America, Jason’s vehicle went over a cliff.  Jason was ejected from the vehicle and it then rolled over him, causing a spinal cord injury. Blacked out and lying face down in the jungle swamp, he would not wake up until a month later. “I was only 13-months-old when it happened,” Grant said. Jason’s road to recovery was painful but he never quit. “One day he is jumping out of airplanes for a living and in peak physical condition, and then all the sudden he is having to relearn how to get dressed again,” the younger Morgan said. Fast forward 20 years, now it’s Grant’s turn to serve in the Air Force. “He definitely had a big role in me joining,” he said. “He always talked about how much he loved being in and how much it meant to him.” Grant said he doesn’t take the opportunity to be able to serve lightly and thinks about his father whenever he gets tempted to complain. “I remember him telling me that the worst news he got wasn’t that he wouldn’t be able to walk again, but that he wouldn’t be able to serve in the Air Force anymore,” he said. “I’m happy that I’m fortunate enough to get the opportunity that a lot of people would kill for.” Grant said he looks to the example set by his father when it comes to pushing himself and never making excuses. “I’ve learned to go through life without throwing excuses out,” Grant said. “He has the greatest excuse there is, he can’t use his legs, but that doesn’t stop him in anything he does, so I can’t let any excuses stop me either.” Since his injury, Jason has won numerous awards and competed in the Warrior Games, a competition for wounded and injured service members and veterans. “I grew up with him being a paraplegic and not letting that stop him,” Grant said. “He competes in wounded warrior games and has even done a marathon in his wheelchair.” Jason recently visited Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, where he did a book signing for his new book “A Dog Called Hope.” The book chronicles Jason’s struggle and how a service dog brought him back from the brink. Through his service dog, Napal, Jason found his life’s mission and rediscovered hope. Without his dad serving, Grant said he doubts he would have ever joined. “If he wouldn’t have been in, I’m not sure if I ever would have joined,” he said. “I wouldn’t have been so exposed to how the military works and probably wouldn’t have even considered it.” But now, roughly three years after joining, Grant is serving his country – just as Jason did.