OPERATION INJURED SOLDIERS JOINS SCI OF GEORGIA TO HUNT
DAGGERHORN PLANTATION IN ALABAMA
Early this year I received a call from then U.S. Army Col. George Roark. Roark had found our
web site, www.injuredsoldiers.org while surfing the net and was instantly intrigued by what we
were doing for our fellow soldiers. After a few phone calls back and forth Roark called to say
he had secured us a booth at the upcoming Safari Club International show in Atlanta Ga.
There I was introduced to James Lakeman who sets up dream hunts for terminally ill children,
one of these hunts takes place at the Daggerhorn. During dinner it was decided what better
way to celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday than a hunt with both the veterans from
OIS and the children of SCI.
Both the veterans and the children daily fight their own battles in their own ways with the
support of their families, but for this weekend, the weekend of Nov. 18, they would forget the
hospitals, the doctors and nurses and their disabilities. They would be kids again, men
among men and with all the old memories of deer camps of the past to mix with new
memories to be made this weekend.
I made my first pick-up of the day with CW3 James Belanger, Jim was in Afghanistan when
tragedy struck in the name of illness, he currently suffers from severe bone and joint stiffness
and swelling his shoulders will go numb when he tries to sleep and is in constant pain from
this, on the drive down Jim made a confession to me, he said,” Ya’ know Tony, when you
called me and asked if I wanted to come on one of the hunts, thought it was to good to be
true, you definitely changed that, thank you.”. What could I say, I was doing what I loved ,
enjoying the great outdoors and sharing it with my fellow soldiers. As we drove south and
west to pick up our other 2 hunters I thought the only thing that could make this better would
be to share it with my family. Reaching Missouri we linked up with our fellow soldiers, SSG.
Wes Stone and SGT. James Wilson both of Missouri. Wes had been shot through the thigh
and his leg bone seriously shattered by the 7.62mm round that passed through it, he had also
taken a bullet in the stomach that he wore around his neck to remind him of how precious life
is and how quickly it can be taken away. As a consequence he is forced to walk with a cane
and has a pronounced limp, but that was not going to slow him down for this hunt, he was
back with his fellow soldiers and loving every minute of it.
Sgt. James Wilson was serving his country when fueling his fuel tanker it exploded leaving
him covered in burns on his face arms and legs, his legs were reconstructed using gel
implants much like breast implants for women. Being a burn victim myself I knew the constant
struggle that goes on daily for Jamie, the lack of strength for walking and the difference in
temperature in different climates. Heroes you bet they are.
Arriving at the Daggerhorn it was all that George said it would be, the entire staff of the
Daggerhorn had turned out and rolled out the red carpet, the first afternoon was spent making
sure the rifles were sighted in and meeting everyone. The children were laughing like they
haven’t done in years, while the soldiers of present and past shared stories of their times in
the military, of duty stations shared and friends of old that they both might have known. Dinner
was prepared and served with music playing and the food was terrific. Everyone had the time
of their life, with the hunters deciding to turn in early for the morning hunt, 0430 comes around
really fast.
The morning found us all decked out in our hunting gear with stand assignments in place, it
was great to see everyone smiling and anxious to head out to a stand, I was going to ride
along to the blinds with the guys and make sure they had everything they needed as the
enclosed tower blinds were designed for 1 person, trying to get my fat butt in there with one of
our soldiers was out of the question. I was content to sit and listen to the shots fired and hope
for the best with everyone else. The morning came and went with lots of deer seen but none
harvested.
The afternoon came and went with lunch being served and the tales of the morning hunt, the
deer seen and of course to chide those who had missed their shot. As our hunters headed
out for the evening I hoped for the deer to return and our soldiers to hold true and make every
shot count. As I waited the bangs of the hunters rifles filled the air and the skinning shed
would soon hold the long awaited trophies of these young men. Well the shed got its deer,
one brought in by one of our young hunters, with smiles from ear to ear he showed off his doe,
taken at about 150 yards, it was definitely a trophy for this young man. Hope was till with me
as 2 of our hunters had not come in yet, Jim and Wes had deer down and were tracking
them. As the atv’s came in Wes unloaded his and Jim got to show his off as well with both
taking nice does to go along side the other.
Dinner that night was to be a grand affair with everyone pulling out all the stops to make sure
the hunters had the time of their lives, Jim and Jamie were laughing and Wes had lost the use
of his cane going on pure adrenaline he said I don’t fell the pain, I feel 100%.
Sunday dawned with Jamie determined to fill his tag, it was do or die time as we would be
leaving the Daggerhorn in the afternoon. As the sounds of shot after shot fired from Jamie’s
location gave hope to us waiting, we prepared to go and collect him and hopefully his deer.
As we approached the stand sight Jamie emerged and pointed to the location of where we
were to look for blood. 2 deer and 4 coyotes he said as we pile into the atv and across the
field to the fence line. We split up with 2 of us going in one direction and 2 in the other no
blood, sorry buddy. No problem Jamie said as we climbed back in the buggy and headed
back to collect our gear.
It was mixed emotions as we packed the trucks with our gear and prepared to leave, with all
thankful for the great times had and sorry to be leaving, as we said our goodbyes to everyone
at the Daggerhorn we all swore to make it a yearly event so to James Lakeman and those of
SCI, thank you for what you do for our children, they are the future. To George and the Staff at
the Daggerhorn, thank you is not enough for the great time you all showed everyone, it will
never be forgotten, we can’t wait to get back there again. To our soldiers, my hat is off to you,
thank you from this old soldier, I hope to see you again soon my brothers.
Tony Covell,
SSG. Retired.
DAGGERHORN PLANTATION IN ALABAMA
Early this year I received a call from then U.S. Army Col. George Roark. Roark had found our
web site, www.injuredsoldiers.org while surfing the net and was instantly intrigued by what we
were doing for our fellow soldiers. After a few phone calls back and forth Roark called to say
he had secured us a booth at the upcoming Safari Club International show in Atlanta Ga.
There I was introduced to James Lakeman who sets up dream hunts for terminally ill children,
one of these hunts takes place at the Daggerhorn. During dinner it was decided what better
way to celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday than a hunt with both the veterans from
OIS and the children of SCI.
Both the veterans and the children daily fight their own battles in their own ways with the
support of their families, but for this weekend, the weekend of Nov. 18, they would forget the
hospitals, the doctors and nurses and their disabilities. They would be kids again, men
among men and with all the old memories of deer camps of the past to mix with new
memories to be made this weekend.
I made my first pick-up of the day with CW3 James Belanger, Jim was in Afghanistan when
tragedy struck in the name of illness, he currently suffers from severe bone and joint stiffness
and swelling his shoulders will go numb when he tries to sleep and is in constant pain from
this, on the drive down Jim made a confession to me, he said,” Ya’ know Tony, when you
called me and asked if I wanted to come on one of the hunts, thought it was to good to be
true, you definitely changed that, thank you.”. What could I say, I was doing what I loved ,
enjoying the great outdoors and sharing it with my fellow soldiers. As we drove south and
west to pick up our other 2 hunters I thought the only thing that could make this better would
be to share it with my family. Reaching Missouri we linked up with our fellow soldiers, SSG.
Wes Stone and SGT. James Wilson both of Missouri. Wes had been shot through the thigh
and his leg bone seriously shattered by the 7.62mm round that passed through it, he had also
taken a bullet in the stomach that he wore around his neck to remind him of how precious life
is and how quickly it can be taken away. As a consequence he is forced to walk with a cane
and has a pronounced limp, but that was not going to slow him down for this hunt, he was
back with his fellow soldiers and loving every minute of it.
Sgt. James Wilson was serving his country when fueling his fuel tanker it exploded leaving
him covered in burns on his face arms and legs, his legs were reconstructed using gel
implants much like breast implants for women. Being a burn victim myself I knew the constant
struggle that goes on daily for Jamie, the lack of strength for walking and the difference in
temperature in different climates. Heroes you bet they are.
Arriving at the Daggerhorn it was all that George said it would be, the entire staff of the
Daggerhorn had turned out and rolled out the red carpet, the first afternoon was spent making
sure the rifles were sighted in and meeting everyone. The children were laughing like they
haven’t done in years, while the soldiers of present and past shared stories of their times in
the military, of duty stations shared and friends of old that they both might have known. Dinner
was prepared and served with music playing and the food was terrific. Everyone had the time
of their life, with the hunters deciding to turn in early for the morning hunt, 0430 comes around
really fast.
The morning found us all decked out in our hunting gear with stand assignments in place, it
was great to see everyone smiling and anxious to head out to a stand, I was going to ride
along to the blinds with the guys and make sure they had everything they needed as the
enclosed tower blinds were designed for 1 person, trying to get my fat butt in there with one of
our soldiers was out of the question. I was content to sit and listen to the shots fired and hope
for the best with everyone else. The morning came and went with lots of deer seen but none
harvested.
The afternoon came and went with lunch being served and the tales of the morning hunt, the
deer seen and of course to chide those who had missed their shot. As our hunters headed
out for the evening I hoped for the deer to return and our soldiers to hold true and make every
shot count. As I waited the bangs of the hunters rifles filled the air and the skinning shed
would soon hold the long awaited trophies of these young men. Well the shed got its deer,
one brought in by one of our young hunters, with smiles from ear to ear he showed off his doe,
taken at about 150 yards, it was definitely a trophy for this young man. Hope was till with me
as 2 of our hunters had not come in yet, Jim and Wes had deer down and were tracking
them. As the atv’s came in Wes unloaded his and Jim got to show his off as well with both
taking nice does to go along side the other.
Dinner that night was to be a grand affair with everyone pulling out all the stops to make sure
the hunters had the time of their lives, Jim and Jamie were laughing and Wes had lost the use
of his cane going on pure adrenaline he said I don’t fell the pain, I feel 100%.
Sunday dawned with Jamie determined to fill his tag, it was do or die time as we would be
leaving the Daggerhorn in the afternoon. As the sounds of shot after shot fired from Jamie’s
location gave hope to us waiting, we prepared to go and collect him and hopefully his deer.
As we approached the stand sight Jamie emerged and pointed to the location of where we
were to look for blood. 2 deer and 4 coyotes he said as we pile into the atv and across the
field to the fence line. We split up with 2 of us going in one direction and 2 in the other no
blood, sorry buddy. No problem Jamie said as we climbed back in the buggy and headed
back to collect our gear.
It was mixed emotions as we packed the trucks with our gear and prepared to leave, with all
thankful for the great times had and sorry to be leaving, as we said our goodbyes to everyone
at the Daggerhorn we all swore to make it a yearly event so to James Lakeman and those of
SCI, thank you for what you do for our children, they are the future. To George and the Staff at
the Daggerhorn, thank you is not enough for the great time you all showed everyone, it will
never be forgotten, we can’t wait to get back there again. To our soldiers, my hat is off to you,
thank you from this old soldier, I hope to see you again soon my brothers.
Tony Covell,
SSG. Retired.
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