Del Rioans supply ‘lake therapy’ to veterans

June 14, 2006

By Bill Sontag
Feature Writer

With all the uncertainty of a long range reconnaissance patrol training exercise, a dozen U.S. Army veterans of wars in the Middle East journeyed to Del Rio Friday afternoon (June 9, 2006).

They roughly understood the objective, but had little idea what they were in for.

The squad-sized contingent, all members wounded in the service of their country, was assembled for “a little lake r&r” by Dr. Stanley McGowen, Texas Project Coordinator for the Armed Forces Foundation.

From the wards at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, the veterans of both Iraq and Afghanistan traveled to Del Rio where they were put up for the weekend, courtesy of Polo Del Rio, executive general manager, Ramada Inn.

Then the “Best of the Border” hospitality continued with a three-course dinner, featuring choices of three entrees, all provided by Bob Michelini, owner, Avanti Italian Restaurant.

There, 1st Lt. Linda Miller, critical care nurse, explained that not everyone would talk freely about how their injuries were incurred. Hers included torn ligaments and hearing loss, but the greater trauma was that her Slidell, La. home was in the path of Hurricane Katrina.

Stationed at the Air Force hospital at Balad, Iraq, Miller had not seen a television, so was puzzled by an e-mail from her daughter, Reba, saying the family was evacuating to Shreveport, without explaining why. The home was miraculously spared, but Miller was helpless to participate in rebuilding and comforting her family.

In Iraq, Miller’s stress was amplified by the heat – “The highest thermometer reading I saw over there was 138 degrees one day” – and word of a $5,000 bounty for the capture and beheading of a female U.S. soldier.

First Sgt. Michelle Fournier, a native of Palmdale, Calif., served two tours in Iraq, receiving wounds that broke her arm and required surgery when the deuce-and-a-half truck she drove fell into a crater.

Fournier’s mission in Iraq was prevention and control of combat stress, including post-traumatic stress disorder. To discharge the responsibility, she traveled to all parts of Iraq, working with battle-weary soldiers in all manner of living conditions.

Fournier’s goal now, when her recuperation is complete, is to return to work with the California Highway Patrol.

Cpl. Leander Hines, military policeman, was stationed at Tallil, Iraq, when he was shot in the chest by an AK-47 assault rifle. The round pierced his body armor, broke three ribs, and opened a wound with loss of blood that made Hines’ blood pressure spiral out of control.

The last time Hines fished was on the Potomac River, while he convalesced at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He won a tournament there, but did he consume his catch? “Oh, no, you don’t eat the fish out of that water,” Hines chuckled. Saturday proved to be different.

The main event began before dawn the following morning. After picking up breakfast tacos at Angler’s Lodge, the vets were transported to the Diablo East boat ramp at 6 a.m. Introductions on the docks united the soldiers with six fishing guides who volunteered to seek out the lake’s hungriest largemouth black bass.

“Reelin’ Ray” Hanselman, Del Rio, coordinated the guides, including Chris Snyder and Trey Hallmark, both from San Antonio, and Ron Castle, Travis Darley and Dave Wharton, all from Del Rio. The Del Rio guides provided their own boats and Anchor Marine fitted out Snyder and Hallmark with Skeeter bass boats.

Furthering the hospitality on the lake, Larry Lively, general manager of Forever Resorts Lake Amistad Resort & Marina, provided a spanking-new, covered, solar-powered 44-foot patio pontoon boat, just added to Lively’s fleet of leisure craft.

Larry Settle, McGowen’s cousin, piloted the boat, following a day of training for marina crews, and Blimpie’s, Rick Isenhour, owner, provided box lunches for the on-board noon meal.

The pontoon patio boat enabled half the group to start the day with the professional guides, switching off to rest in comfort while the other half boarded the bass boats for their turn at the fish.

By 2 p.m., the anglers docked again at Diablo East, and all had caught bass during their seven hours on Lake Amistad. McGowen said no totals of weight were recorded, because the bass were destined for the fryer, not the record books.

Still, McGowen, a blind veteran, was indisputably proud of his five-pound bass, and all the others he caught, all released above the five-fish limit.

But 1st Sgt. Wesley Van Buren easily matched McGowen’s satisfaction with his six-pounder on the first bass-fishing trip of his life. Van Buren, hailing from Shreveport, La., was wounded in Afghanistan when his convoy of medical supplies was hit by an explosion of undetermined source.

He sustained broken knees, back, collar bone and neck, but with the aid of braces and Ron Castle’s bass boat, Van Buren had the time of his life Saturday. Between Castle and Van Buren, the pair boated more than 60 bass, again nearly all released except for their legal limits.

“Yeah, I think I want to do this again,” Van Buren grinned. “Maybe I’ll just go ‘pro’ now.”

The veterans’ satisfying day came to a climax at the Val Verde Fairgrounds where Fairgrounds Director Oscar San Miguel provided free use of an airy pavilion between horse barns and arena, with the support of Val Verde County Judge Mike L. Fernandez.

Under the pavilion, instructor pilots of Laughlin Air Force fired up a large cauldron of oil, frying up the day’s prodigious catch to which all veterans contributed because of their successful day. About 30 of the 87th Flying Training Squadron’s “Red Bulls” pilots and their family members hosted the vets.

Organizers included Capt. Robert “Lurch” Skuya and Lt Col. Eric “D-Day” Morgan, but Lt. Col Om Prakash, squadron commander, attended and greeted the vets, too.

Tuesday, Amistad Marina Manager Larry Lively commented on his reward for the effort. “One guy told me afterwards, ‘I came out here with in Iraqi attitude, but – now – this is the happiest I’ve been in years.’ That’s what this is all about,” said Lively.

“Reelin’ Ray” Hanselman echoed Lively’s comments. “We hope we can do this again. Everybody really had a good time,” Hanselman said Monday night.

McGowen began this project with a March visit to Indianhead Ranch, an exploratory contact to learn what outdoor recreation opportunities might be pursued for wounded veterans in this area.

Gratified with the community cooperation found here, McGowen is energized to organize more excursions to get wounded veterans out of their hospital environment, if only for a few days of extraordinary hunting and fishing in Val Verde County.

McGowen may be contacted at his Weatherford, Texas, home at smcgowen@earthlink.net, or 817-341-3508.

More information about the Armed Forces Foundation may be seen at www.armedforcesfoundation.org.

 

Questions or comments? Contact Bill Sontag directly.