FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — There are a lot of organizations which do a lot of great work for America’s veterans, but one West Virginia based group has a simple mission, to thank all veterans for their service by taking them hunting or fishing.
“That’s exactly right,” said Dave Whittaker, the founder and president of Warriors in the Field. “These veterans don’t get the recognition they should. I’ve always said, ‘Don’t just thank a veteran on Veterans Day, thank them everyday.”
Whittaker and his organization recently took three West Virginian vets on a float fishing trip on West Virginia’s New River. The day on the water was hosted by river guide Larry Nibert and his company The West Virginia Experience.
“To me it’s all about respect and about giving something back,” Nibert said. “It’s just a privilege to take these guys out.”
This wasn’t Nibert’s first opportunity to put a rod and reel in the hands of a veteran. Every encounter is moving.
“One gentleman a few years ago, we went to help him out of the truck and he said, ‘Hand me that bag’,” Nibert shared. “I asked him what was in the bag and he said, ‘That’s my legs.’ I about lost it right there.”
Along for the trip on the cloudy, overcast morning was Kevin Koontz of Elkins who served with the U.S. Navy and the West Virginia National Guard during the first Gulf War. He did two tours overseas working on all of the mechanical systems on his ship. Now back home, he drives for Federal Express and loves spending time in the outdoors.
“I like to be outdoors. I like to hunt and fish and I’ve got three boys and I’m introducing them to the woods now,” he said. “Quite frankly I’d rather be in the woods or on the water. It’s just a peaceful place and a great way to clear your mind and have a great time.”
Also wetting a line on the trip was veteran Ben Legg of Burnsville. Ben’s story started when he joined the West Virginia Army National Guard out of high school as an opportunity to afford college.
“I was deployed to Iraq in 2008 and was in Iraq in 2009 and 2010,” he explained. “We mainly went out and did counter IED missions, looked for weapons caches, and rounded up a few bad guys. We were out on the front lines looking for IED’s just about every night, and we found them just about every night.”
Now back in his native Braxton County, Ben is married with two boys under the age of five. He laughs they can cause way more stress than anything he saw in Iraq, but in reality he knows a lot of guys, including himself, fight the memories at times. His therapy is fishing.
“There’s things that occur during war that can cause anxiety and at times that anxiety can come back,” he explained. “This is a way to come out here and not think about what happened to you. You can just come out and have a good time.”
Legg now works in the federal prison system and is pursing a Masters Degree in Social Work, something he hopes to use to help fellow veterans trying to adjust after returning from combat.
Then there was Bob Cowgill of Elkins. Now 80, Cowgill served in the Army from 1960 to 1963 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Although it was peacetime, Cowgill says they were on high alert for several weeks during the Cuban Missile Crises.
“I really thought we were going to go to Cuba,” he said. “Then Khrushchev backed down from Kennedy, but we were ready to go.”
Cowgill today remains extremely active in the outdoors.
“I don’t hunt anymore, I used to hunt, but I really love to fish,” he said. “I do a lot of fishing and camping.”
Cowgill’s children bought him a kayak for Christmas.
“I’ve had it out once,” he laughed. “I’m anxious to get it out and do some fishing.”
The eight hour trip concluded in a driving rain storm, but nobody complained. Fish were biting, laughs were flowing, and in Whittaker’s mind it was an appropriate way to simply say, “Thanks.”
“A lot of people don’t know, 22 veterans who commit suicide every day. January 4, 1999, my dad was one of those 22 veterans,” Whittaker said. “I wanted to do something about that.”