I want to thank you for hosting such a wonderful event. The welcome I received was heartfelt and I want everyone who gave their time, resources, gifts and donations to know that we appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts. I feel honored to be welcomed so openly into your community. The feeling of brotherhood among the warriors and the community was palpable. The evenings around the campfire and the many opportunities to acquaint myself with the sponsors and the locals offered me a cathartic release I had not realized I needed. Seeing some life-long friends together in the same place is usually reserved for funerals; bringing the band back together for a joyous occasion was everything I hoped it would be. Thank you for your generous gift.
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Eric Kasmire - BCV Veteran Alumni
A NOTABLE THANK YOU
By Steven Bunting
War is exciting. Many would describe it as days and days of boredom followed by minutes of pure excitement. Well, this my friends is true. But, as with everything, you become desensitized to that excitement. That feeling we often describe as “chasing the dragon.” Many veterans come home to realize that the dragon is very elusive and may never be caught again. This leads to substance abuse, negligent behavior and subsequently mental health issues. Many vets survive war just to come home and die chasing the dragon. The Heli Hog hunt experience is about as close as it gets to touching the dragon. For the first 10 minutes of my first flight with Sam Brown, we didn’t say a word. We just sat there in awe as Jace Cole masterfully navigated that helicopter like a dragonfly. As I was lost in the vastness of all the land, Jace comes over the air, “we got one!” Within seconds we were on top of that hog and just like that we had our first kill. Sam and I let out some battle cries and smiled from ear to ear the rest of the hunt. That moment, was the dragon. Thank you for letting me touch it again. Words can’t describe what that does for my soul. There was something about it that spoke to my DNA. Thank you so much.
