It does the soul good to help a fellow soldier out. It was my extreme pleasure to participate in the Paralyzed Veterans of America fishing tournament, held on Keystone Lake this past September 25th – 27th. I cannot stress the amount of effort the tournament director and volunteers put into such a fantastic tournament. The cost is minimal and the rewards are great.

Here is just a small example of what the PVA does for you in this tournament. The day started with me pulling my boat in line to wait for my paralyzed angler to arrive. All I had to do is show my number and pull up to the designated spot, turn over my keys to one of the volunteers who also helped my partner into my boat and go fish. These guys load your boat with food and water for the day, back your boat into the lake and park your truck for you. At the end of the day they radio for a volunteer to bring your truck and trailer to the ramp and drive you to the weigh-in. Never have I been treated so well at any tournament I have fished.

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All of that pampering was nice, but the true reward was helping my partner, David Gardner of Springville, Utah. When I met David the night before the competition, I asked him how long he had been fishing and what kind of baits he liked to throw. His answer was not one I was expecting to hear. He told me that he had never been bass fishing and that he didn’t even bring a pole.

Luckily for us we were able to round up some poles that he could use and we made plans for the next day. I haven’t fished Lake Keystone in over 5 years and didn’t have any time to pre-fish, so our day was set on what I thought the pattern should be and a prayer. In this tournament the first day is for the paralyzed angler only. You just volunteer to guide them to any spot they would like to fish and in this case, just try and put David on some fish to catch.

The good thing for me is that David was just out to try and have a good time. It also gave me an opportunity to get to know him and talk about some of the places he had been while serving our country.

David and I got along great, partially because we have both served in some of the same areas; he too was Airborne qualified while serving with the 82nd Airborne Division. I, on the other hand, served with the 101st and once again the two division representatives set out on another mission. Only this time it was to conquer the mighty bass.

David lost his leg while serving in Iraq. His story is like many others I have talked to. Tragic, but a price many have paid in service of our country. His attitude was one that is admirable. He takes his injury day to day and learns to cope with his loss with a positive and humorous attitude.

He caught a few fish that first day and was excited to fish with me as my partner the second day. The next day was much of the same, few fish but lots of conversation. At one time I had a nice fish on my line while using a Carolina rig and asked for the net. I had forgotten about his injuries while battling the fish. When I looked back to see what was taking David so long to get the net and he was sitting there with a smile on his face as he had removed his prosthetic and replied “would you like for me to hop over there or do you want to bring it to me?” I nearly lost the fish as we both just started laughing.

We finished up by weighing in our fish and having a good laugh as he tried to add to our weight by weighing in his prosthetic foot. His sense of humor is admirable but the price he paid in service of our county can never be repaid.

It does the soul some good to get out there and volunteer some of your time to those who have paid a price, for our freedoms.

You will be able to watch the day that I spent with David in one of our upcoming episodes on the Future of Fishing. To help volunteer, donate or see what other activities the PVA has for not only paralyzed veterans, but all who live with these disabilities, log onto our web site and click the PVA link.

Get involved and remember to take a kid fishing and instill a memory that will last a lifetime.

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