Invictus Games athlete calls hanging out with Prince Harry 'an amazing experience'

A U.S. Air Force veteran who is competing in the 2023 Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, Germany only has praises for Prince Harry. He shared his experience hanging out with the royal, who he says is just like "one of the guys".

Retired Chief Master Sgt. Garrett Kuwada, who is competing in wheelchair rugby, track and field and swimming for Team U.S.A., fondly recalled how the Duke of Sussex interacted with him with his usual sense of play after Sunday's wheelchair rugby match in which his team won gold.

He recalled with a laugh how Prince Harry grabbed his beard and shook it as he was about to put the gold medal on him. He told People exclusively: "He said a few words to me and gave me a big hug. It's awesome to feel that he recognises me, comes up and treats me like I'm one of his friends."

Kuwada added: "Like all veterans do, [when] we don't talk to each other for maybe months or years — when we get together, it's like we never left. That's what it feels like when I talk with him."

The 53-year-old veteran navigated a loss of balance and coordination, hearing, speech and vision after he suffered a ruptured aneurysm in 2016. He retired from the Air Force in 2018 after more than 27 years of service and eventually found the strength to compete in the Department of Defense's Warrior Games and the Invictus Games. Prince Harry launched the Invictus Games in 2014 after he attended the Warrior Games in 2013.

Kuwada made his debut in the Invictus Games in The Hague in 2022 where he met the duke and they bonded more after the games when they went scuba diving in his home state of Hawaii in November. Their excursion was featured in the Netflix docuseries "Heart of Invictus". They were joined by fellow Invictus Games athlete Gabriel George, who said the duke is "like a brother".

Speaking about the experience,he said: "That was awesome, just hanging with him on the boat. He's a veteran, and like all vets, when we get together, we talk, laugh, joke and tease each other. He's just like one of the guys, it was an amazing experience."

Kuwada shared that the Duke of Sussex "makes you feel like you've known him forever". He is thankful that Prince Harry launched the Invictus Games, and likened the atmosphere to a homecoming or reunion because everyone is just happy. He said: "Even just now when I looked out, everybody's got a smile on their face. Every competitor that's out there, they're smiling. And they're from all different countries."

He added: "I'm so grateful that Prince Harry put this together for us veterans to come together and use this as part of our healing process. And we are, we're healing, because everybody is smiling."

Kuwada is at the 2023 Invictus Games with his wife Joey, their son Casey and Casey's girlfriend Briana. Joey called the paralympic-style sports tournament "very important" and "lifesaving to a lot of people" especially to her husband.

She said: "He looks forward to competing, it gives him purpose, it gives him something to strive for. He's retired and his only job is to be an athlete, to be a competitor. And so for something like this to have for these injured servicemen and women, it's needed. A lot of veterans feel like their lives are over, and they have nothing more positive to experience. But these Games, you can see, tell a whole different story."

The 2023 Invictus Games kicked off with an opening ceremony on Saturday, September 9, which Prince Harry attended. He flew to Germany from London where he attended the WellChild Awards on September 7 and paid a visit to Queen Elizabeth II's resting place at King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle on the first anniversary of her death on September 8. His wife, Meghan Markle, joined him for Day 3 of the games on Tuesday, September 12, and they are expected to be at the closing ceremony on September 16.