The first thing Terry Dowden, the veterans and myself want to thank each and every sponsor, donor, land owner, Pops (cooked a amazing shrimp stew) and everyone that helped with this event. If I left out anyone I’m sorry and I respectfully apologize. We couldn’t have done it with everyone’s help!
The trapping supplies were FANTASTIC and will set the guys up for success. I was stunned at what each veteran received as it covered every furbearer in the state of Louisiana. Trust me; this gear will get used as we had guys who want to pile fur. It’s really made my heart melt when one told me he always wanted to trap but couldn’t afford the equipment and had no one to teach him. The members of Trapperman you gave these four veterans a new outlook on life, and desire to be in the outdoors. Thank you.
The food was too good, and we ate way too much. From steaks that hung over the side of the plate to Pop’s shrimp stew, it was all good. Terry’s wife cooked down some pork shoulders that made me weak in the knees. Adult beverages were enjoyed…A lot of bonding happen during the meals as we all sat around a table and ate together.
The veterans caught on fast. Their sets by day 2 were really good, with all the bases covered. Their enthusiasm to learn and to put in the work floored Terry and I. We couldn’t feed them enough instruction or traps. We actually ran low on traps as they were some trap setting fools. I mean they caught on fast as you could feed it to them. They learned to trap EVERY legal furbearer in Louisiana, let that sink in. They were learning so fast that Terry gave them a class on making snares and I think Terry ran out of snare making material as they were working like they were in a sweat shop. One veteran couldn’t sleep and went back to the shop to make more snares and practice bedding traps in the sandbox.
I sat up with them after the work was done and we traded combat experiences and discussed how to deal with PTSD and life in general. They formed a internal network with our group so there is a support system for not only trapping, but if they need someone to talk too.
I’m going to post pictures from each day on a separate post. My internet sucks where I live, heck, we just got our phone towers up and post office open again from the last hurricane. So bare with me as I get the pictures up.
Again, thank you to each and every one of you. You not only provided awesome support, you helped with the mental improvement of combat veterans.
