"I was crawling around trying to get my rifle back into the correct firing position then I realised that I had lost my left arm."
Jaco van Gass was Born in South Africa and flew to Britain to serve in the military and he was enlisted into the Parachute Regiment.
“I just had that feeling of I need to follow my dream,” he said.
But that dream turned into a nightmare when he was hit by a Taliban-fired Rocket Propelled Grenade while on operations in Afghanistan.
He lost his left arm above the elbow and suffered significant damage to his left leg too.
They realised it was a Taliban training camp that they almost walked straight into. Two Rocket Propelled Grenades were fired.
“I kind of just saw this red glow in the side of my night vision goggles, and I kind of just turned my back to the oncoming rocket, Jaco said.
"Luckily for me, part of the impact was taken up by the ladder I was carrying.
"I think if I didn't have that on my back, I probably would have been killed.”
Jaco remembered asking the medic 'have I got my leg’ and feeling safe once he was in the helicopter.
He woke up in Selly Oak Hospital Birmingham and underwent extensive surgery.
He lost his left arm at the elbow, suffered a collapsed left lung, shrapnel wounds to his left side, punctured internal organs, blast wounds to upper thigh, a broken tibia and a fractured knee.
His incredible fighting spirit and determination got him through 11 operations and intense rehabilitation.
Reflecting on his service, Jaco said he doesn’t regret his time in the military- despite his injuries.
“I've made such good friends. I've travelled the world. I've done everything I wanted with the British Army,” Jaco continued.
Jaco saw his disability as a new challenge.
He climbed four of the seven highest mountains and ran marathons.
He then decided to pursue competitive cycling.
Jaco's first time competing in big stadiums was in the inaugural Invictus Games in 2014.
Winning two gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games was a career highlight for Jaco.
Recently, Jaco won Britain's first cycling gold medal of the Paris 2024 Paralympics, despite having been hit by a car just days before.
Another veteran to have represented Britain in the Paralympics recently is Corporal Stuart Robinson. He spent 16 years serving with the RAF but his military career came to a shattering halt in 2013 when he was severely injured by a roadside IED.
He found new purpose through sport – specifically wheelchair rugby – and went on to win gold medals at both the Invictus Games and the previous Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
Both men have been helped by military charities and speaking about his experience, Jaco reflected:
“The role military charities have played in my life is hugely significant and I can only be grateful for them, that they are there and for the service that they do provide.
“I don't think there's much more I can say than just a huge thank you to everyone that plays the lottery and a request of keep playing.
It really is life changing and it really makes a difference. If you want to help veterans like me, please pay the Veterans' Lottery.
