Nebraska Disabled Warriors pheasant hunt brings veterans together
“Its always a better feeling when you’re outside with people who’ve been through what you’ve been through.”
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Those coming home from combat don’t always show the outward signs of disability. P.T.S.D. and other related mental health illnesses are fueling a staggering number of veteran suicides each year.
The V.A. recently announced all veterans - whether they are in the system or not - can receive mental health treatment.
This weekend, WOWT spent the day watching and listening to veterans as they tackle their demons through the comradery of pheasant hunting. Some 60 hunters enjoyed a controlled pheasant hunt at Oak Creek Sporting Club in Brainer, Nebraska. Proceeds from auction items, sponsors and donors is expected to exceed $4,000 for the Disabled Warriors Hunt of Greater Nebraska, which benefits veterans.
According to the VA, more than 6,000 veterans take their own lives each year.
“The first time we started it seven years ago, a couple of guys hadn’t been out of the house in a long time,” founder Lou McCollor, who served 21 years and is 100% disabled himself. “They started attending every year, they started going to counseling, and they’re doing a lot better.”
“(My brother) lost his battle to his demons back in 2017, and its been a helluva road since then,” Air Force veteran Mike Bell said. “There’s too many things out there that can help you in different ways, but you have to choose the help, you have to choose to be okay and wake up every morning and choose to do something.”
“We’ve had guys out here that have had problems with (shotgun fire triggering PTSD), and once they get out hunting with all the other veterans, they’re able to talk out a lot of their problems.
“The expected (noise) is not a big deal,” Navy veteran Brian Crop said. “Its the unexpected that’ll get ya.”
“Fourth of July’s not bad, (because you know it’s coming),” Army veteran Cory Craig said. “But two weeks before the 4th of July, when you’re rolling with your windows down?”
“Its always quite a bit better feeling when you’re outside, especially when you’re with a group of people that have all been through the same stuff that you’ve been through,” Bell said. “We all got the same sense of humor.”
“Pretty dark,” Craig said. “But its all good.”
Laughter surrounded the day, which played out under an overcast March sky that allowed the hunters to move from station to station in pursuit of the birds, and a sense of quiet, ironically, amidst the noise of shotguns.
“Vets get other vets,” McCollor said. “The disabled warriors out here, first of all, everybody sacrificed so much, for their country, but more importantly a lot of these folks, both men and women, their families sacrificed so much time away, and when they come back home, (you’re) not the same man or woman (as) when you go to combat. it makes it tough.”
Musician Ray Scott of Texas was the headliner at an evening event hosted by Nebraska Brewing Company, toasting the veterans during his set. Local musicians Nathan Wade and Jason Earl also performed.
“To the veterans, everybody,” Scott toasted. “God bless ‘em, that’s why we are who we are.”
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