Wounded Warrior Deer Hunt

U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Wounded Warrior Hunt

By Felicia Whatley

 

Three local wounded warriors enjoyed a weekend in the wild for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sponsored deer hunt including shotgun shooting lessons, a potluck dinner for the warriors and their families, a fish fry, and a chance for each hunter to harvest and take home a doe and a buck.

“I helped set up and take down for the wounded warrior hunt. One warrior harvested two deer, another got one deer and the other soldier participated in the hunt,” said Lewisville Lake Park Ranger Justin Berndt, who played a supportive role in the hunt on December 14 and 15, 2012.

A deer population study was done on the area a year ago in which the Fort Worth District decided there was a need to thin out the herd.

“We noticed an opportunity to support the district mission and we just wanted the warriors to have an experience hunting that they may not have otherwise had; so we selected three soldiers from the Disabled American Veterans, two were from Community Warrior Transition Unit with limited hunting experience for a day and a half white tail deer hunt,” said Rob Jordan, a lake manager.

“This the first time we had done a hunt here in the Trinity Lakes region. We showed them some techniques rattling antlers and grunt calls for deer,” said Jordan.

U.S. Army Sergeant Royce Sweatman, a Vietnam veteran shot and brought home a buck and doe, Command Sergeant Major Chad Wong shot a buck and Sergeant Ignacio Mata had a great time on the hunt, but did not harvest a deer. Each soldier was paired up with a ranger;  blinds made by an Eagle Scout Adrien Lewis from Carrolton and enjoyed the hunt using the authorized double barrel shotgun in the specified area.

Command Sergeant Major Chad Wong, a member of Army Reserves Civil Affairs said, “I was glad to be invited. I took my daughter and she is still talking about how much fun she had.” “I really appreciate what the Corps did for me,” said the two time Iraq veteran who also did tours in Afghanistan and Bosnia. Wong is also a police officer in Tulsa, Okla., who is going through a medical board.

Sergeant Mata said the experience “was really great and I enjoyed it. It was the first time using a shotgun. The guides were very knowledgeable and we saw a lot of wildlife—owls and various deer showed up.”