FLORENCE – October 1, 2014 Twenty recovering, wounded Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Ft. Campbell, KY, will roll into Florence, Alabama Friday evening, October 31. Their arrival will be marked by the roar from the motorcycle engines of the Alabama Patriot Guard Riders and the flashing blue lights of the Florence Police Department. The Patriot Guard Riders, some veterans themselves, will escort the Soldiers all the way from the Alabama-Tennessee state line with municipalities along the route also providing police escort. Witnesses to the convoy will have no doubt someone of import had arrived.
The Solders will be the guests of honor and hosted by Southern Fishing News. The Soldiers will make the trip to participate in the third Operation HOOAH all expenses paid. While “HOOAH” is a word heard around many military bases and means a myriad of things, including I understand or I agree, the “HOOAH” used in this event is an acronym for “Healing Outside Of an Army Hospital”.
Ronnie McDonald, publisher and editor of southernfishingnews.com, explained the purpose for the event is to give the Soldiers an opportunity to use fishing as a tool for physical and mental healing as well as re-integration with civilians. McDonald said, “Getting these wounded Soldiers out of the hospital environment and on the water fishing brings them back into the community and the reality of real life. The fishing experience shows many of the men and women they can still accomplish something.”
Twenty area volunteer bass fishermen will make their time, knowledge, boats and fishing gear available to their assigned Soldier. Each “boat guide” is assigned a different Soldier to fish with each day of the two day event. The Shoals Fishers of Men will be the participating bass club for the event.
The fishing activity will began at 7 a.m. Saturday morning on Pickwick Lake from McFarland Park. The Sunday venue will be Wilson Lake, Fleet Harbor from 7 a.m. to noon when they will be treated to a grand lunch on the ramp. The 101st Airborne troopers will only have a short, five minute drive to the Fleet Harbor ramp since their lodging for the weekend will be provided by Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa on the north side of Wilson Dam.
Ronnie McDonald
The event has great support from individuals, companies, retail
businesses and government entities in the area. Fishing industry companies, nationwide, also provide a great deal of support with fishing products for the Soldiers and volunteer boat guides.
McDonald said, “ Operation HOOAH was created as a healing experience for wounded Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and would continue until there was no need. This year there are half as many wounded Soldiers in the Warrior Transition Battalion at Ft. Campbell, KY as were being treated in 2013. This is a very good thing.”
MEDIA RELEASE/OPERATION HOOAH/SOUTHERNFISHINGNEWS.COM
