GV vet shines at Wheelchair Games

Theron Hallock hadn’t shot a bow and arrow in 66 years. He hadn’t held a pool cue in 30 years.

The 81-year-old Hallock actually hadn’t taken part in many athletic events lately. He used to be an avid hiker, but the World War II and Korean War veteran has spent the last seven years in a wheelchair.

“I hadn’t done any of that sports stuff,” Hallock said, but that didn’t stop him from claiming a silver and two bronze medals three weeks ago at the 28th Annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Omaha, Neb.

Hallock, a Green Valley resident since 1994, said it was an experience he’d never forget. A handful of fellow competitors from the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System made the trip with Hallock and nine joined him on the medal podium. A total of 550 veterans took part in the event.

“The pageantry really blew me away,” Hallock said. “I can’t recommend this event highly enough.”

Hallock took part in five events, with his silver medal coming in the slalom — an event where competitors race a motorized wheelchair around an obstacle course, complete with hairpin turns.

His bronze medals came in 9-ball and, yes, archery.

It had been decades since he fired a bow — a “Robin Hood” model, he called it — with his father on hunting trips, but his aim remained true.

“Some things, you never forget how to do it,” Hallock said.

As for 9-ball, he said he was quite the pool shark as a younger man. He played quite often while he was in the service, but had fallen out of the loop.

In the three weeks preceding the games, Hallock shook off the rust and played his way into the semifinals.

“I could always hold my own on a pool table, but I left the eventual gold medal guy set up perfectly on the final rack,” Hallock said. “Oh, well. I came into the games not expecting to win any medals and I came away with three!”

Tours of duty

Hallock joined the Navy the day after he turned 17. He never made it through high school, but he aced his G.E.D., setting himself up for a degree in mathematics from Western Michigan University, setting up a three-generation stretch of Hallocks who earned degrees from WMU.

“I almost chickened out of college, but my wife made me go,” Hallock said. “I’m glad she did.”

He went through three separate discharges — once after WWII, once after Korea, and once for a day in Newport, R.I. before President Harry Truman called out on his barrack’s loudspeaker, “All tours of duty will be extended one year.”

After his Navy days were over, Hallock worked a number of odd jobs before making his way to Arizona.

He spent most of his retirement exploring the area’s hiking trails, even climbing to the top of Old Baldy three times.

However, Hallock’s balance started to betray him. He paid a visit to a handful of Tucson doctors and, eventually, a specialist at the Mayo Clinic, each of whom diagnosed him with an Arterio-Venous Malformation (AVM).

A tumor was thought to be found on his spinal cord. Five spinal biopses later, Hallock suffered a tweak to his spine, forcing him into a wheelchair.

Years after the initial diagnosis, the AVM was finally found near the base of his neck.

“I’ll never forget the little half-smile I got on my face,” Hallock said. “If we had found the AVM early enough, I’d still be climbing mountains.”

Self-pity never entered into Hallock’s mind, as he took charge of his condition and continued to care for Judy, his wife of 56 years who passed away three years ago from cancer.

Joining the group

After the VA hospital paid for Hallock’s van conversion, he started going to the weekly Friday meetings and getting to know his fellow veterans.

He was instrumental in raising funds for last year’s wheelchair games’ competitors, but he declined to participate.

“I told them I thought I was too old for that stuff,” Hallock said. “This year, they signed me up and said there’s no ifs, ands or buts.”

In addition to the slalom, archery and 9-ball events, Hallock also took part in the air-gun competition and the bowling event.

“I had never bowled a day in my life before until a couple of months ago,” Hallock said. “I wasn’t quite as good as the other guys, but it was still a lot of fun.”

Now that he has his first wheelchair games under his belt, Hallock has begun preparations for next year’s games in Spokane, Wash.

His first order of business? Buy a new pool cue.

“I’m going to start practicing at the East and West centers with my own cue this time,” Hallock said. “Next year, I’m going for the gold.”

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747