Wounded Warrior Blind Project Dedicated

Ducks Unlimited--one of the nation's leading conservation organizations--and the United States Marine Corps recently partnered to help American service people get back in the hunt after being wounded in the service of their country.  The partnership proved a success last weekend with the January 24 dedication of the Ducks Unlimited Wounded Warrior Blind Project at Quantico Marine Base in Quantico, Virginia.

Not only was the project dedicated, but with two of the three blinds complete, some war veterans actually got a chance to do some duck hunting.  David Elwing, Committee Chairman with Ducks Unlimited's Pentagon chapter, had the opportunity to take Marine Chief Warrant Officer Brad Garfield on his first duck hunt.  Elwing sent me these pictures of the construction and dedication of the blinds and of the successful results of CWO-4 Garfield's hunt.

 Construction

 Nearly finished

 Unveiling the permanent Wounded Warrior blind sign (l to r: Marine Lt. General George Flynn, Congressman  Rob Wittman (R-VA), Sgt Keith Buckmon; Dave Elwing, CWO-4 Brad Garfield)

Chief Warrant Officer Garfield with his (and Dave's) limits of ducks and Dave's dog Jade

Dave and CWO-4 Garfield hunted Blind # 1, located on the Potomac River, where Dave broke up ice before the hunt.  The other completed blind is located in the headwaters of Chopawamsic Creek, and the third blind, which is expected to be built this spring, will be near the mouth of Chopawamsic Creek.

Dave says the Wounded Warrior Blind Project came about through the efforts of the DU chapters from Richmond, Possum Point (Stafford/Quantico), the Pentagon and Alexandria.  Some of the $14,000 that DU contributed toward the cost came from an October fundraiser held by the Richmond Chapter.  Other funding came from the Virginia DU Executive Committee.

Most of the material was donated, and Quantico Marine Base provided gravel and heavy equipment used in building handicap van-accessible offloading sites for each blind.  Volunteers from the DU chapters, the community and the Marines provided the labor.

Saturday's hunters were identified by the Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment, which is based at Quantico and sought "wounded warrior hunters who could safely enjoy the day," Dave said.

CWO-4 Garfield, a longtime Marine, was seriously wounded in 2005 when he attempted to defuse an improvised explosive device (IED) in Iraq.

According to Dave, the blinds will be made available to other disabled hunters through Quantico's Natural Resources & Environmental Affairs Office, which manages all hunting at the military base.

Ducks Unlimited is a volunteer organization that works to restore and protect waterfowl habitat and wetlands.  As of last year, it listed membership roles of nearly 800,000.  For more information on the Wounded Warrior Blind Project or Ducks Unlimited, contact David Elwing at dwelwing@erols.com.

Comments

[Tom Jr.]

Very cool!

[Blessed]

This is the kind of thing I love to hear about!

[Arthur]

That is too cool.

[Jeff]

What a great project! And with the economy the way it is along with all of the national/state/local government cutbacks on any type of project like this, it will be even more important to have private groups like DU stepping in to help provide opportunities and/or improvements in hunting opportunities. Thanks for highlighting this great story.

[chris]

That is neat. Love the duck blind

[Harsh Ranjan]

The Army Reserve is a diverse organization, full of people from varying civilian occupations. The U.S. Army Reserve is rooted in the tradition of the

American Colonists who would serve, protect and defend this country whenever, wherever it was needed. George Washington and Alexander Hamilton proposed a

contingency force to support the Army that would be centrally controlled by the Federal Government.

[Removal Services in Blackheath]

Well done, guys. All governments should surely take example from this project. Helping people does not mean pumping money into the economy but helping people on the ground. Real people not multi-million dollar organisations.