Wounded Warriors & Awesome Stories

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Here are the quoted accounts of the day, yesterday 17 Nov 2007


QUOTE=RANGER690~~Sometimes....people make you proud. Sometimes...all that crap on the news falls by the wayside and Good takes hold of the world.

Today was the Wounded Warrior Project James River Catfishing trip. We had a huge problem to start our morning. Somehow, the task of securing fishing licenses for the service men and women never got completed. So as we stand there waiting for them to arrive (with 20 boats in the water and waiting), we are racking our brain. Our best guess was to convoy them to the nearest bait shop/Walmart/public computer and buying a license for each one. Sure the thought of "just go fishing" was there, but being the first day of duck season, the chances of seeing a Warden on the river was high. So we are thinking....dang, we are going to kill a couple of hours of fishing for these guys/gals. So, we took a shot at a solution. It went like this.......

Hello, Dispatch.
Ma'am, I need to talk with a local Game Warden.
No problem, give me your number and I will have him call you.

Hello, this is Sgt. Powers.
I explain our delema.
Hummmm....I can't just tell you to not get them a license.
I understand, just wondering if you had a better idea, that wouldn't cost these guys/gals valuable fishing time.
Let me think, make a call and I will get back to you.
Thank you sir.

10-15 minutes pass. My cell phone rings again.
Hello, this is Karen Anderson of the VDGIF. I understand you have some Soldiers going fishing today.
Yes ma'am.
Well, I am calling on behalf of Captain Minerick (sp) of the VDGIF. On his word, everyone of them is exempt from having a VA fishing license today. You folks go fish! Good luck....Have a great day.

Sometimes...those in charge, stand up and just take care of things. I have always had good dealing with our Game Commision. Today, they made a cold group of folks cheer in delight.

I will start another thread with details about the fishing today. But I wanted this topic to stand alone. The names above deserve some credit. None of them were obligated to follow thru on this...but they did.

Dayton~Quote

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[QUOTE~~Racn35... God what an awesome day WE had !!! Dude we just got home man !!! Good seeing you again buddy. I will have a special folder on my bucket accnt for the WWP pics that will be showing up......I can think of a dozen cell phones with lots of lifetime memory making pics on them. Lisa too over 40 herself !! Just saw your 50ish too - Make your plans now - WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT FOR 2008 WILL BE OCT 18TH.................
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Jamie~QUOTE

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QUOTE~~WVBowhunter... Wow, we had about 27 wounded warriors, family members and miltary out on the river,,,fish didnt cooperate real well, but I think most all the ones that needed to catch a fish did with only a couple skunks. The big fish was about 55 lbs, that I think came off Eddy Wileys boat (Cat Tracker) with a few more in the 40's and another 50. Total around 500 lbs of fish caught by our guys and gals in uniform.

The Capt in Charge of the Warrior Transition Unit was actually a Navy guy I had known 20 years ago in WV, that got smart and went Army...He is one helluva officer that knows his men and has compassion for our wounded warriors, and has quite good potential to become a good catter after his first at around 40 lbs

I truly right this with tears in my eyes having been humbled beyound belief working to bring a few smiles with young guys and gals that have sacrificed and given so much for our nation. The day even began with tears from everyone as they couldn't believe so many people turned out to take them fishing,,,some having never been fishing a day in their lives. We had more boats and skippers than wounded warriors and loved ones, but that in a way was also a special blessing. One young mans meds had worn off and he was starting to shake pretty badly and had to be brought back in early---but he was having so much fun catching fish and enjoying himself that he nearly begged to keep on fishing. I can only hope and pray that each and everyone of you get one chance in life to share in an act of humanity that I experienced today. Please say a little prayer for our guys and gals in the military tonight and if given the opportunity to share in a smile or laugh with our wounded warriors.

Jim~QUOTE

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QUOTE~~Fishdadhunt... Yesterday was one of my best trips one the water. It was great to meet an American hero and show him the time of his life. I have never fished for cats and I only live a few miles from the Dutch Gap landing (for some reason yesterday I was told that there are not cats there) I am hooked and can not wait to go again.Now I ve got to convince somebody how fun it is so I can go. The soldier was a great young man and he thanked me over and over and I know he had a good time. Although I have caught some nice fish on my boat, yesterday we caught some monsters the largest to date and largest total poundage. We could not officially weigh them but according to my great 1st mate Steven Stubblefield there was one around 5-6lbs, two over thirty, and one that was close to or over 50lbs. We also had two others that pulled off. I have a scale that only goes to 25 lbs and with this type of fishing i need a bigger scale. Thanks for pulling this off and I look forward to next year
Walt Brown~QUOTE

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QUOTE~~cameron_krazie ...My boat and I were one of the last to leave that morning waiting on a few straglers to make it to the ramp. A young man by the name of Richard Newton a tender 19yrs old from western VA and I headed out running down to deep bottom.. We had the kind of start that u sometimes wonder if you should have wetted a line. A few good take down and a lost fish half way to boat, she was pulling pretty good. We went to deep bottom and picked up Bruce (redcat) and headed back for some more fun. The nibbles we good and hard but still no hook ups. We move for the third time and the poles started to bend. Finally a nice hook up. Richard got the rod and was fighting this fish real good. If u notice he is not a very big young man. This fish made 2 or 3 good runs and Richard was having a ball. The fish finally surfaced for the first time and we thought he was gonna swallow his chew.. his eyes got so big. We landed the fish and measured for his citation. A new best for Richard... 40lb. The grin from ear to ear was priceless... Its amazing how young he was and to have gone through so much. We all need to thank a veteran and say a pray for our men and women over seas... It made me think while I watched him fish and smile of how lucky we are to have brave men and women to serve our country. Thanks for all you do!!
Mike~Quote


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THANKS TO EARL FOR STANDING BY THE GRILL FROM SUN-UP TO SUNDOWN :

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APPROACHING 100 PHOTOS IN THE ALBUM SO FAR(LINK BELOW).....MORE STORIES AND LOTS MORE PHOTOS TO COME !!

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Much much much more to follow !!

GREAT JOB to meney people forget unless you were there you will never know

QUOTE~~Cataholic...I had the honor to take out Jason Scarbrough. He was injured in a roadside bombing in Afganistan Oct 2, 2007. He is still in pretty bad shape which I won't go into details b/c of his privacy, But one thing was memory loss from the explosion. Both his memory loss is short and long term which he is slowly and pain stakingly recovering from. Saturday was the first day he was allowed out on his own since his convoy was attacked. The outing Saturday served true to the purpose of the Wounded Warrior project getting soldiers outdoors. This day had a very big impact on his life, moral and recovery. By mid day his meds were wearing off and the pain was intense and he still stood strong and didn't want to go back. Listening to him tell his emotion filled stories the one thing that angers and saddens him most is he is not with his squad still serving. He is a TRUE Warrior and Hero.
The day started with getting to know him and progressed into smiles, laughter and ended with a true friendship. He is a avid Ohio outdoorsman and fisherman (loves flathead fishing and hunting). Today he caught his PB blue of 48lbs. The rod went down I took it from the rod holder he jumped up threw the cane to the floor, forgot his adversity for a moment, grabbed the rod and for 5 minutes fought his fish like a pro. He said now he is hooked on big James river blues. He expressed that "The one thing he never wanted to forget was this day". My wife met his wife over the phone yesterday morning and got the details of his life to make it easier on him to explain his situation. She sent the pic of his fish to her over the phone and with in hours his brothers called and ribbed him because he had beaten their PB blue and flathead cats. He was so excited. He told them he got blowed up and still beat their PB and was grinning from ear to ear. It was great to see his moral increase that much in just a few hours. :grin:
He and his wife will be going with me again as soon as he recovers more. We heard from his wife today that he was still smiling this morning and still remembers the details of Saturday everytime he looks at the pics. I could go on for days about how this event effects your life, but those of you that were there know. We should all be dedicated to our sevicemen as they are to our country and to each of us. We can never repay the debt to them, but we can always support them and their families in may ways like the Wounded Warrior Project. Thanks Jim, Earl and the supporters of the Wounded Warrior Project to make this possible for me and my wife to be involved and do what we could to help the Warriors. A big thanks to Stonewall, REDCAT and Frank also for spending hours catching the bait. A big thanks to Wayne Atkinson (CRASH14me2) for letting me borrow his boat for the event after mine broke.
God Bless America

Steve~ Quote

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Great Cause and Great Job-God Bless all of You and Them!!

Nice work!

RACN35

Great work and a great cause. I would like to thank YOU for making it happen for our wonderful service folks.

NOT A PROBLEM !! I was in for 22 years myself !!

Spent 12 months in Al Anbar province Iraq and unless you have been there you do not know what its like,if not for the great American people who sent packages,letter etc. to let us know we were not forgotten it would have really been hell X 2! The wounded warrior is a great program and those who support it have a special place in heaven,you do not know how much it means to have people around who care and show their love and compassion for you it heals wounds you cannot ever see,God Bless You All, Semper Fi !!

I spent a tour in Al Anbar Province Iraq and if not for people like you at home sending packages cards etc to let us know we were not forgotten it would have been worse than it was,the wounded warrior program is one of the greatest programs there is and those who support it have a special place in heaven,being close to people who care heals wounds that are unseen,some of the warriors do not have anyone to share a day with except for folks like you,God Bless All of you and Semper Fi !