Eight men.Two boats.At a glance, it seems to be just a normal fishing trip.The difference, though, is every one of the men on the trip is an American hero, a military veteran wounded in battle.“I was shot in my head, my right hand, and my lower left leg,” said Jeffrey Shonk, a veteran of the Army.“I have two artificial hips,” said Scoop Davis, an Air Force veteran. “I’ve had seven major surgeries.”“He just pressed a button and blew me up,” said Tyler Jeffries, an Army veteran.Jeffries was in the Army for five years.He lost both his legs in Afghanistan in 2012.“Life after that was a pretty big struggle, thinking your life was going to be over after you got blown up and lose your legs and stuff like that,” Jeffries said.Shortly after leaving the hospital, friends took Jeffries on his first fishing trip.It changed his life.“I realized I could still get out and do things with the boys and get out and do things in the world,” he said. “And that’s what really made me want to start my own nonprofit.”That’s when Hookin Veterans was born.Jeffries and his partners fly wounded soldiers from across the country to South Florida for a few days out on the water.“We never would have been able to do this on our own,” said Scoop Davis, an Air Force veteran. “So, it’s very important to us.”The first trip was last year and included five veterans.Eight veterans are in North Palm Beach this year for the second trip which began Friday.And while the fishing was great, it’s a distant second to the real value of the time on the boat: A return to the camaraderie they can only find with other veterans.“You build bonds there that are really difficult to build outside of that,” said Ryan Wightman, a veteran of the Marine Corps.“The camaraderie, it’s a huge part,” said Army veteran Jeffrey Shonk. “It keeps me going.”“Camaraderie is everything in the military,” Jeffries said. “Just the brotherhood you have in the military means the world to everyone that’s in.”The fishing may only last the weekend but the impact of being on the trip lasts much longer than that.“The chance to be with other men that served this country,” Davis said. “That’s it.”Jeffries said the eventual goal for Hookin Veterans is to host two trips every year, 30 veterans in all.If you’d like to help, you can go to Hookin Veterans | Fishing Trips For Veterans.
Eight men.
Two boats.
At a glance, it seems to be just a normal fishing trip.
The difference, though, is every one of the men on the trip is an American hero, a military veteran wounded in battle.
“I was shot in my head, my right hand, and my lower left leg,” said Jeffrey Shonk, a veteran of the Army.
“I have two artificial hips,” said Scoop Davis, an Air Force veteran. “I’ve had seven major surgeries.”
“He just pressed a button and blew me up,” said Tyler Jeffries, an Army veteran.
Jeffries was in the Army for five years.
He lost both his legs in Afghanistan in 2012.
“Life after that was a pretty big struggle, thinking your life was going to be over after you got blown up and lose your legs and stuff like that,” Jeffries said.
Shortly after leaving the hospital, friends took Jeffries on his first fishing trip.
It changed his life.
“I realized I could still get out and do things with the boys and get out and do things in the world,” he said. “And that’s what really made me want to start my own nonprofit.”
That’s when Hookin Veterans was born.
Jeffries and his partners fly wounded soldiers from across the country to South Florida for a few days out on the water.
“We never would have been able to do this on our own,” said Scoop Davis, an Air Force veteran. “So, it’s very important to us.”
The first trip was last year and included five veterans.
Eight veterans are in North Palm Beach this year for the second trip which began Friday.
And while the fishing was great, it’s a distant second to the real value of the time on the boat: A return to the camaraderie they can only find with other veterans.
“You build bonds there that are really difficult to build outside of that,” said Ryan Wightman, a veteran of the Marine Corps.
“The camaraderie, it’s a huge part,” said Army veteran Jeffrey Shonk. “It keeps me going.”
“Camaraderie is everything in the military,” Jeffries said. “Just the brotherhood you have in the military means the world to everyone that’s in.”
The fishing may only last the weekend but the impact of being on the trip lasts much longer than that.
“The chance to be with other men that served this country,” Davis said. “That’s it.”
Jeffries said the eventual goal for Hookin Veterans is to host two trips every year, 30 veterans in all.
If you’d like to help, you can go to Hookin Veterans | Fishing Trips For Veterans.
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