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FORT BELVOIR, Va., Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Prince Harry and first lady Michelle Obama honored wounded veterans Wednesday in Fort Belvoir, Va. The 31-year-old British royal and 51-year-old American advocate visited injured servicemen and women with Jill Biden, professor and wife to vice president Joe Biden.
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Prince Harry arrived in the U.S. earlier in the day to promote the upcoming Invictus Games. The event sees wounded armed services personnel partake in multiple athletic challenges, and will be held May 8-12, 2016, outside Orlando, Fla.
"I am in no doubt that my two deployments to Afghanistan changed the direction of my life," the prince shared. "Returning to the U.K. after my first deployment, I shared the flight home with three critically injured British soldiers, all in induced comas, and the body of a Danish soldier, killed in action."
"It hit me then that this flight was one of many, carrying home men and women whose lives would be changed forever, and some who had made the ultimate sacrifice," he said. "From that moment, I knew I had a responsibility to help all veterans, who had made huge personal sacrifices for their countries, to lead healthy and dignified lives after service."
Army specialist Sydney Davis, who struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, told Today sports therapy and the Invictus Games helped pull her out of her depression. Prince Harry attended the inaugural opening ceremony in 2014, which featured a recorded message from Obama.
The British royal will be honored at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., in the afternoon prior to meeting Obama's husband, U.S. President Barack Obama, at the White House. Prince Harry is son to Charles, Prince of Wales and brother to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.
