A survivor of a deadly 1981 grain elevator explosion in Corpus Christi is sharing his story of recovery and resilience 45 years later.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Forty-five years ago, a massive grain elevator explosion along the Corpus Christi Ship Channel killed nine people and injured more than 30 in one of South Texas’ deadliest industrial accidents.
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Among the injured was 23-year-old federal grain inspector Kevin Saunders.
“The blast threw him 300 feet,” an archival report from the time noted, leaving him with a broken back and severe internal injuries.
“My body was broken in half — lungs collapsed — massive injuries,” Saunders recalled. “They didn’t think I’d live.”
Saunders survived, but the explosion left him paralyzed from the waist down. What followed was a dramatically different life — and a new path forward.
Through adaptive sports, Saunders found purpose in competition, eventually reaching the international stage at the Paralympics.
“To be hurt and put in a wheelchair and still have a chance to win a gold, an Olympic medal, like Carl Lewis — that’s awesome,” he said.
Saunders went on to win two Paralympic bronze medals and set a world record in the pentathlon at the 1992 Paralympic trials.
“You don’t have a lot of options,” he said with a laugh. “So you gotta play the hand you’re dealt. And that’s probably the most important thing I learned.”
His journey extended beyond athletics.
Saunders later worked under College Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder at Kansas State, his alma mater, and appeared alongside Tom Cruise in the Academy Award-winning film Born on the Fourth of July — a moment he still remembers fondly.
“He asked me for my autograph. I wrote, ‘Go for it 110%,’” Saunders said. “I asked him for one, and he wrote back, ‘Kevin, go for it 200%.’”
He also served at the highest levels of government, becoming the first person with a disability appointed to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition under George H. W. Bush and later reappointed by Bill Clinton — the only member to serve consecutive terms under two administrations.
In that role, Saunders helped promote health and fitness initiatives nationwide, including efforts aimed at increasing opportunities for people with disabilities.
Despite his accomplishments, Saunders credits his strength to something deeper.
“I may be pushed in on all sides, but I am not crushed,” he said, quoting scripture from the Bible.
Now 68, Saunders continues to push himself physically, spending time in the gym and refusing to slow down.
“I can put more on if you need me to,” he said while lifting weights. After finishing a set, he added with a smile: “I’m not tired yet — piece of cake.”
Decades after the explosion that changed his life, Saunders remains a testament to perseverance.
No matter the challenge, he maintains that “there’s always a way.”