2 minute read
Healing on the Water
By Tyler Francke, Oregon Veterans News Magazine
Marine veteran Koya Leyden, of Astoria, sits on a camp chair on the banks of the Nehalem River, barefoot and relaxed.
He’s enjoying his second outing with Heroes on the Water, a nonprofit dedicated to providing no-cost kayak fishing trips and other therapeutic experiences to veterans, first responders and active-duty military, along with their families.
This trip, in early September, is a joint effort of the Portland and North Oregon Coast chapters.
For Koya Leyden, who grew up fishing and first heard about Heroes on the Water at a stand down in Astoria, these trips provide him an outlet he can’t find anywhere else.
“It helps. It’s really calming, just being out on the water,” he said. “Floating with the fish. And you’re surrounded by other vets, who have a similar background.”
Marine veteran Koya Leyden enjoys a relaxing time kayak fishing on the Nehalem River during a recent Heroes on the Water event, a kayak fishing trip coordinated by the Portland and North Oregon Coast chapters.
The simplicity of the exercise and the opportunity to reconnect with nature are important parts of the rehabilitative process, but the time spent with other veterans is a vital component.
“Most civilians go, ‘Thank you for your service,’ but they don’t understand what you’ve been through,” Leyden said. “I just think it’s great to get back, and have camaraderie with my brothers and sisters in the armed forces.”
Interestingly, the coordinators of the Portland and North Oregon Coast chapters, Anthony Stickel and Ray Zimmerman, are both civilians. For them, it’s a chance to give back.
“I just put them together,” Stickel said of the veterans, first responders and active military who participate in these trips. “I make sure they have what they need to fish, then I back out of the picture. I just watch over them and make sure everybody’s safe. They can talk about their problems, if they want to, and if they just want to talk about fishing, that’s great, too.”
U.S. Air Force veteran Jim Dolan founded Heroes on the Water in 2007 after taking a group of vets on a fishing trip at the Port Lavaca, Texas, ranch of a man named Will Manske, and Stickel said they try to keep that same spirit with their own trips.
“Men and women who served were a name, rank and serial number when they were in,” he said. “We want to grow, but we also want to keep that feeling of camaraderie. We don’t want to make people feel like they’re just a number out here.”
Like Stickel, Zimmerman said the fellowship with others who have a shared bond of service and similar background is a key part of the healing.
“These guys and gals see a lot of things that they can’t unsee,” Zimmerman said. “First responders, firefighters and police — there’s a lot they deal with every day. And it’s the same with the military. This helps them to unplug from that. It’s nice and peaceful on the water and helps with the stress.”
Stickel said one of the big things that motivates him is remembering the men who served with his father during the Vietnam War, many of whom had “unhappy endings.”
“I carry those people in my heart,” he said. “It does get to be a grind sometimes. But then I think, you know, I have it pretty good, and the reason I do is because of the freedoms I enjoy that these guys all fought for.”
For more information about Heroes on the Water, or to find a trip or chapter near you, visit www.heroesonthewater.org.
