Cover Story: Heroes Meet Heroes 2025

WeSalute continued its 13-year tradition of uniting service and sport with the sixth live streaming of “Heroes Meet Heroes” on November 6. Moderated by Chairman Scott Higgins, the event continues the initiative conceived and developed by CEO Lin Higgins. This year’s session brought military veterans and Olympic athletes to the same virtual table. Together, they celebrated their shared successes and explored the deep-rooted similarities between the discipline of the podium and the duty of the uniform.

"Olympians and veterans share a lot in common: great determination and success as well as service to our country," Scott Higgins noted in his opening remarks.

This year’s session featured two distinct panels comprising a powerful lineup of voices, diving deep into the science of resilience, the struggle of identity transition, and breakthrough treatments for invisible wounds.

Veteran panelists included: 

Allen James Lynch (Medal of Honor recipient and Army veteran who served in Vietnam with the First Cavalry Division); 

• David Caruth (Former Pennsylvania Army National Guardsman, WeSalute Board of Advisers member, and Vice Chairman of Valor);
• Dr. Brigadier General Loree Sutton (Retired US Army Brigadier General, pioneering psychiatrist, and former Founding Commissioner of the NYC Department of Veterans' Services);
• Lt. Gen. Marty Steele (Retired Marine Corps veteran and co-founder of Reason for Hope);
• Joshua Peyton (Former Army Captain and Airborne Ranger, co-founder and President/CEO of the Veterans Golfers Association);
• Tommy Jones (Retired US Army First Sergeant and Director of Military Engagement at Zero Mills).

Athlete panelists included: 

• Priscilla Loomis (2016 Track & Field Olympian, three-time Hall of Fame inductee, and host of Priscilla in the Morning);
• Myles Amine (Olympian and five-time NCAA All-American wrestler who captured a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics);
• Joe Maloy (US Olympic triathlete and 2016 World Champion).

And the panelist who served both in the military and as a world-class athlete: Dr. Phil Shinnick (US Olympian in Long Jump, US Air Force Veteran, and medical practitioner).

WeSalute would like to send a special thank you to the benefit partners who made this event possible: Avis Budget Group, IMAX, and American Airlines.

The Mental Game Shared by Military & Olympians: "A Game of Inches"

The conversation in the first session began by dismantling the myth that heroes are fearless. Instead, the panelists emphasized that success is about managing pressure and mastering the mind.

"It's a game of inches, right?" said Myles Amine, Olympic wrestler, noting that podium placement often comes down to the smallest margin. "You cannot quit, even down to the last millisecond."

Priscilla Loomis, an Olympian in Track & Field who appeared on both panels, expanded on the science behind that persistence. She shared insights into neuroplasticity and the importance of self-talk. "Neuroscientists discovered something about your brain: it doesn't care if your thoughts are true, it just believes whatever you repeat," Loomis explained. 

She emphasized that 70% of being an athlete occurs "between the ears," noting, "Why did I want to quit in those moments? It wasn't ever after a hard workout or me losing. It was the outside pressure. I realized that outside pressure was actually just outside distractions."

Transition and Identity

A major theme of the second session was the difficulty of hanging up the uniform — whether a sports jersey or military fatigues — and finding a new purpose.

"I have struggled with my transition from being an athlete. My identity — it's who I was, it's what I thought about, it's what I did every day," shared U.S. Olympic triathlete Joe Maloy. He spoke on the concept of authenticity, defining it not as who we were, but "who we are and who we want to be."

Loomis echoed this sentiment regarding the professional world. "The biggest pill to swallow was my ego. Being an Olympian gets the email opened, but it doesn't say 'Oh, you're automatically hired.' "

For the veterans, the transition often involved redefining service. Tommy Jones noted the satisfaction of a new chapter, saying, "I get to serve as a civilian first."

Healing and "Reason for Hope"

Perhaps the most urgent discussion centered on the crisis of mental health, preventing suicide, and the need for holistic, innovative treatments. David Caruth highlighted the gravity of the situation: "Over 20 veterans a day do commit suicide. That's a big problem in the veteran community and something that should be focused on more."

Lt. Gen. Marty Steele and Dr. Brigadier General Loree Sutton spoke passionately about "Reason for Hope," an initiative looking beyond traditional pharmaceuticals.

"What we're trying to do is bring all of these ideas together to look at viable alternatives to traditional treatments which we believe have not worked successfully... We are talking about healing," said Lt. Gen. Steele.

Dr. Sutton advocated for a "strategic national reset," criticizing the institutional failure to improve PTSD outcomes since 9/11. She emphasized that trauma is rarely isolated. "PTSD does not travel alone," Dr. Sutton said. "You have to address the pain: spiritual pain, moral pain, physical pain."

Moving Forward

Despite the heavy topics, the event concluded with actionable advice on living fully. Medal of Honor recipient Allen James Lynch shared that his own healing began when he looked outward: "I was feeling a lot better when I wasn't focused on me."

Dr. Phil Shinnick, serving as a bridge between the athletic and military worlds, advised the audience to stay present. "Open your eyes and see what's before you. That is the only thing that's real in this life... everything else is memory."

The consensus among the heroes was clear: resilience is a daily practice. As Joshua Peyton summarized, "We fail, so we persevere. We fail over and over again, and we don't quit."

You can watch the two events here: