More than 300 boaters expected to participate in 15th annual Fishing for Freedom event this weekend

QUINCY — Fishing for Freedom Quincy, a program which pairs boaters with veterans (called warriors) for a weekend of fishing, will celebrate its 15th anniversary this weekend.

“When we first got started, it was right after the vets started coming back home from Desert Storm and Desert Shield. We knew one of the things they missed while they were deployed was their time outdoors,” former event president Glenn Sanders said.

Fishing for Freedom allowed the warriors to connect with other veterans and active duty personnel, and “that brotherhood and sisterhood that they missed,” Sanders said.

The warriors often are paired with the same boater each year, forging lasting connections. In addition to the main day of fishing on Sunday, a meet and greet is scheduled for Friday, a Illinois Veterans Home fishing tournament and heroes banquet with an auction and raffles on Saturday, and lunch and an awards ceremony on Sunday.

Sanders got involved after founder Bob Havermale approached the Mississippi Valley Hunters and Fishermen Association (MVHFA) — of which Sanders is a member — in search of boaters for the first event. After Havermale presented the idea, World War II vet and MVHFA president Allie Lymenstull took off his hat, added a $50 bill and started passing it around the room.

“Boys,” he said, “we’re going to make this happen.”

Havermale wanted to bring the program to Quincy after volunteering as a boater at a similar event in western Missouri.

“I’ve seen what the event meant to all the soldiers, and I told them I was going to start one … in Quincy, since we had the Mississippi River,” Havermale said.

In the first year, 76 soldiers participated. More than 300 are expected this year.

In honor of the 15th year, a sea arc boat will be given away to a boater or warrior. In addition, Saturday night’s Heroes Banquet will feature a speech by Clay Dyer, a professional fisherman who was born with no arms or legs. This will be Dyer’s third Fishing for Freedom appearance.

Impact on Warriors

The event has changed throughout the years. In the second year, the program provided certificates to honor the Vietnam War veterans, recognizing that many of them felt disrespected by the way the country treated them when they returned.

One of the recognized Vietnam veterans was Havermale’s neighbor.

“Four or five weeks later, (the veteran’s wife) came over and wanted to talk to me. She said, ‘What did you do to my husband? … He used to wake up screaming every night, and ever since (Fishing for Freedom), he doesn’t.’”

A year later, the veteran came to tell Havermale of his experiences.

“He said, ‘When we left Vietnam, we were happy to get out of there. When we landed … the CEO came on and said we ought to change our clothes and get out of our uniform on the plane before we deplaned,’” Havermale said. “He said, ‘I was never so disgraced in all my life, until that general told me welcome home and gave me a certificate … it was like a release.’”

The certificates and recognition since have become part of the Fishing for Freedom program.

“There’s so much healing that goes on,” said Havermale.

Troy Crippen, an Army vet who served from 1988 to 1991 as a paratrooper in Desert Storm, had never entered a fishing tournament. The VA suggested Fishing for Freedom as a way for Crippen to direct attention away from alcohol and drug addictions and PTSD. During his first year, he and his boater Buddy Weisenburger won the catfish division.

The experience turned into a four-year partnership with Weisenburger, bringing home six trophies and finding a love in the outdoors and the community surrounding fishing. Crippen now is seven years sober and has transitioned from fisher to boater. He is towing his boat 900 miles from South Carolina to take a warrior out on the water this weekend.

“This gave me something else to be able to focus on and to do and to occupy my time,” Crippen said. “The people around the fishing tournaments, everything is about God and country, and it’s just a really, really good core of people who I get to hang out with.”

Fishing for Freedom was Crippen’s first experience with a veterans organization, which has helped turn his life around. Now he is a member of Army Bass Anglers, a group that supports four other veteran charities and is one of the biggest outdoor organizations in the country.

“It really started the ball rolling for me to do some different veteran events and get out there and do things and meet good people and turn my life around,” he said.

Community Support

The event would not be possible without community support.

“When we leave Hamilton,” Sanders said, “there’s 100 Harleys in front of us, a police escort … fire trucks, all the way to the outskirts of town. And every little house that you go to … has got flags out and they know we’re coming, and the kids are out and waving … the vets literally cry inside the vehicles.”

“We always really encourage the public to come down and hang out with us at the riverfront about 12 o’clock (on Sunday in Kessler Park) and cheer on the Warriors and boaters as they come through,” Fishing for Freedom President Nate Moore said.

To get more involved, people can bid during Saturday night’s auction at the Oakley-Lindsay Center, with all proceeds going into the Fishing for Freedom program, providing transportation, lodging, food and equipment to the warriors. Volunteer opportunities can be found at https://fishingforfreedomquincy.org/information-for/volunteers/.

“Did I think it would be as big as it was?” Havermale reflected. “No, I never did think it would grow to this size, but Quincy has always been so good at doing these types of events, and if it wasn’t for all the committee members and all the volunteers, we couldn’t do this.”

Annie C. Reller is a Seattle native and a recent Stanford graduate working as an intern for Muddy River News this spring.