PISMO BEACH, Calif. — Derek McGinnis felt that riding waves was like a birthright, and losing his left leg to a suicide bomber in Iraq wasn't going to stop him from surfing again.

So, he rallied nearly a dozen other wounded-in-action amputees he met in a military hospital and brought them to Pismo Beach.

"I have a board and (have to) make sure I keep on using it," said McGinnis, 28, a Navy petty officer and medic who began surfing at 10 in Northern California. "I said, 'Man, I've got to be able to do it. It's possible.' "

So there he stood one foggy August morning, with an ear-to-ear grin and wearing a brand new wetsuit.

With him on the beach was Tim Brumley, who had never handled a surfboard before though he looked the part with his short-cropped, blond hair. The former paratrooper lost a leg in Afghanistan last year.

However, as a teenager in New Mexico, Brumley saw a flick with some of the best surfing ever committed to film.

"When I saw 'Point Break' I said, 'That's it! I want to surf!' " declared the 26-year-old veteran of the Army Airborne Infantry as he pounded down beers and told war stories at a seaside bar the night before his first lesson.

Nearly 200 miles north of Los Angeles, Pismo Beach is one of a vanishing breed of surfside towns, a place where die-hards still park beat-up RVs for free right next to the sand and head to the waves.

It's also the home turf of champion surfer Rodney Roller. He lost a leg in a forklift accident 16 years ago, but returned to the water lugging a 25-pound wooden limb that could withstand corrosive saltwater.

Now the 39-year-old Roller teaches other amputees. After McGinnis tracked him down, he agreed to instruct the military men for free.

McGinnis met most of his crew at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Houston, Texas, where he was recovering after a suicide bomber crashed an explosives-laden car into his ambulance two years ago. Money for the trip was raised by Operation Comfort, a San Antonio-based organization that helps wounded veterans rebuild their lives.

Some members of the group had lost an arm to the war. Former Army Sgt. Chang Wong, 24, lost both legs when his tank ran over an explosive. Jesse Schertz, a 22-year-old retired Marine corporal from Peoria, Ill., was severely burned and lost a leg.

"It's going to be a blast," McGinnis promised them. "It will show you can achieve anything. No matter what, you can overcome."

During a brief demonstration on shore, novices including Brumley, Schertz and Wong were shown how to get on a board and keep their balance. They were taught how to paddle — "one arm at a time" as the instructor said.

"I've only got one arm, dude," shouted Michael Owens, drawing laughter. The 22-year-old ex-Marine lost his other arm when his convoy was ambushed in Iraq.

In their first few minutes on the water, some missed waves, some boards capsized and some rocketed away, spilling their riders.

Then a cheer rose as McGinnis caught a nice ride.

The cheers continued as Owens began cruising with his one-arm paddle technique.

Beyond the breakers, a small herd of curious sea lions watched briefly, and a pair of dolphins leaped majestically out of the water.

"I'm thinking about telling my wife, telling her we're moving out here to Cali," Brumley, exhausted but exhilarated, said as he waded to shore for a rest. "Just surf every day for the rest of my life. It wouldn't be bad, you know."