Fishing With A Wounded Warrior

By Capt. David C. Dillman galvestonbaycharterfishing.com (832) 228-8012

Recently, Capt. Juan Cruz and I had the privilege to fish with Col. Rob Hanson and his two sons, Chandler and Tyler. There's a story leading up to the fishing report, so I'll try my best to give the "CliffsNote" version.

Around 3 months ago, I received a call from a woman in charge of donations for a Wounded Warrior fundraising project. She introduced herself then said, "We have a mutual friend in Randal Reeder." Reeder is a former professional wrestler turned actor, biker, and pastor of Saved Savages, although he doesn't call himself a pastor. He's also involved with veterans of the military. Anyway, she asked if I would donate a fishing trip, and I said, "Sure!"

About four weeks ago, I received a call from Rob Hanson, and he said, "I received the fishing trip as a gift from my wife, but I don't think you can accommodate me as I'm in a wheelchair." I thought to myself, my boat isn't wheelchair friendly, but Capt. Cruz's might work. I then told him, "Don't despair; I think I can make it work." After talking to Cruz, a war vet himself, I called him back saying, "We can make it happen." He was more than happy because, since becoming paralyzed, he hasn't fished nor has he ever fished from a boat with his youngest son Tyler. I said, "Well, that will all change come Monday, June 26."

Monday morning, Cruz and I readied his boat, and they arrived on time. The two boys jumped out of their Yukon and grabbed their dad's chair as he climbed out from behind the steering wheel and lowered himself in. We all exchanged short pleasantries, and I said to him, "You live in Conroe, right?" He said, "Yes." I then just asked by chance, "Do you know Randal Reeder?" Reeder has a house in Conroe. His eyes widened as he said, “Yes! He was just at our house a couple days ago." I told him that Randal and I are friends. We then took a selfie and sent it to him. God sure can make the world seem small at times.

Harmon managed to get into the boat by himself, with slight help from his oldest son Chandler. I was amazed at this man's will. He got up in the seat in front of the console as we left his chair, at his request, at the dock. As we headed out of the marina, I found out that Harmon served 30 years in the Army and obtained the rank of Colonel.

After a few minutes of fishing, Harmon hooked into a bull red. After a brief battle, Cruz netted a 45 inch bull red, his largest ever. We took a few pictures and sent it back into the water. Shortly after, he landed the biggest trout of the day, which measured 23 inches. Meanwhile, Tyler was catching black drum then landed a nice slot redfish. Chandler was catching sheepshead and black drum then hooked into another redfish. At around 10:30 a.m., they had had enough. Cruz eased the boat back into Eagle Point Fishing Camp.

On the way back, we chatted about his injury. The injury wasn't from what most people would think, like artillery fire, but from being exposed to toxic chemicals on a Russian base while serving in Afghanistan. He was already retired when he started to develop the symptoms of paralysis.

This particular fishing adventure took place the weekend before July 4 of this year. It made me reflect upon the sacrifices by those that serve to protect this country and our freedoms. I've always said, "Freedom doesn't come without a price." There are many groups that provide much needed assistance to our "Wounded Warriors." If you can find time, volunteer to help or donate to one of the many Wounded Warrior charities. My thoughts and prayers go out to all our military and their families.