Warriors In The Field Helps Combat Veterans Reconnect With The Great Outdoors

I joined the Army in 1984 and left my hometown. When I returned 30 years later, I was almost a complete stranger.

One of the hardest parts of adapting to post-military life is adapting to no longer being part of a team, family, body that is larger than you.

As a Soldier you start your day at 0600 by being sent outside to play (do physical training) with your friends. Depending on the day and the location, it may be from 15 to 15 thousand of your little friends all dressed just like you.

A soldier's day and life are filled with shared miseries and shared victories. Every Soldier has a Battle Buddy. We give each other nicknames and talk crap about each other. Even when we are sent to the crappiest places on Earth, our buddies go with us.

Then you complete your military service and go home. You still have lots of friends and buddies, but they are from (or live in) places like Spring, Texas; Clarksville, Tennessee; Pocola, Oklahoma; Denver, Colorado; or way out in Washington in little towns called Ellensburg, Electric City, and Wenatchee. Some are still serving all over the globe.

We can connect by phone calls, Face Time, you name it, but you still spend most of your days alone. You feel a bit like Brooksy, the librarian in the Shawshank Redemption. You've been institutionalized and spent all your adult life with a bunch of buddies who you didn't choose, but you'd die for any one of them. Now you're "free," but you're alone.

I think that this is part of the reason that we lose 22 veterans a day. They have lost their connection and they struggle to reconnect. They are home, but they might as well be in a foreign country. Many of them are also struggling with physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds that have yet to heal, or might never heal.

I was in a funk and along comes this guy, Dave Whittaker. We'd went to school together from 3rd grade to high school graduation, but then we went on our separate ways and had not spoken in 35 years. And Dave calls me up and says, "You need a friend and so do I." Through his words I saw that guys who stayed home are also dealing with the losses of friends and family, and all the other crap that life throws at you.

Dave's own personal losses had driven him to start an organization called Warriors In The Field, LTD. Dave's father was a Korean War veteran who carried the invisible scars for decades, finally driving him to take his own life. This loss inspired Dave to create Warriors In The Field as a way to give back to our nation's veterans. Through this non-profit group in which Dave shoulders most of the work and a large part of the expense, he has shared his love of the outdoors and his passion for hunting and fishing with disabled veterans.

I have personally witnessed his passion to help and to return something to guys and gals who have served their nation. It is his act of service and he performs with distinction.

I am thankful that Facebook reconnected Dave and me. He is a great friend and a true patriot. Today, in honor of Dave's friendship and support to veterans, I ask you all to look at warriorsinthefield.org or go to the Warriors In The Field, LTD. Facebook page and give it a "LIKE." If you are blessed to be able to do so, then please make a tax deductible donation to this worthy organization.

Also, if you know of a qualified veteran you can nominate them for a future hunting or fishing excursion. Go to warriorsinthefield.org

Thanks all for reading my story, and thanks to Dave Whittaker for being a true friend. If you find yourself in need of a new car or truck or you are just passing through Elkins, West Virginia, stop by and say "Hi" to Dave at All American Auto Center and Valley Rent A Car.

https://www.facebook.com/Warriors-in-the-Field-Ltd-1538799523069354/