Cejudo visits Pentagon and a military hospital in Washington, D.C.

Olympic wrestling champion Henry Cejudo (center) poses with Olympic athletes Trent Cryer and Daniel Marks during tour of the Pentagon (U.S. Olympic Committee photo by Lauren Pasquale)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Olympic wrestling champion Henry Cejudo was selected to brief Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as part of a group of athletes from the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games who were given a tour of the Pentagon by the Department of Defense (D.O.D.) on Monday.

Also on the tour was Greco-Roman wrestling Olympian Dremiel Byers, who serves in the U.S. Army and is a member of the Army World Class Athlete Program.

"Henry volunteered yesterday to join Olympians and Paralympians who went to the Pentagon to thank the D.O.D. and Secretary Gates," said Charlie Huebner, USOC Chief of Paralympics. "Henry gave a short speech to Gates and several of his leadership about his appreciation of the country and the Armed Forces that represent him."

Cejudo said he was asked only a few minutes in advance by the U.S. Olympic Committee to speak to the high-ranking military leaders.

"I gave a speech in front of a room full of commanders," said Cejudo. "They liked what I had to say. I told them about how I felt about our great country."

Cejudo was also included in a visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he had a chance to visit with disabled veterans who served our country in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It was special to me," said Cejudo. "We sacrifice our time and efforts for our entire life for a gold medal. They sacrifice their lives for us. They are true heroes. I look up to them. They all have courage, pride and dignity."

Cejudo said he developed a friendship with a veteran who had lost both of his legs in battle, and planned on keeping in touch with him in the future.

"They may not have legs or arms, but they have a fire burning inside them and a love for our country. It was a neat moment for me," said Cejudo.

Cejudo said that many of the disabled veterans were excited to meet him and had a respect for the sport of wrestling.

"Wrestlers should visit these hospitals," said Cejudo. "They admire wrestling. Many of them are wrestlers. It was a great experience."

The visit to the Pentagon provided an opportunity for the Paralympic Division of the U.S. Olympic Committee to formally thank the government office for a high level of involvement and support it provided to Team USA throughout the Beijing Paralympic Games.

"There is a long history of involvement of the military in the Olympic and Paralympic movement," said Huebner. "The reason the Paralympics exist today is because a group of injured veterans from World War II started the movement as a means of using sport as rehabilitation after World War II."

Cejudo and Byers were in the nation's capital along with hundreds of 2008 U.S. Olympic Team members in all sports who participated in a visit with President George W. Bush at the White House on Tuesday.

See TheMat.com for update on White House visit.