Photo Gallery Fly-fishing excursions available for wounded active duty, National Guard and Reserve Soldiers
Two of retired Chief Warrant Officer Ken Griffin’s favorite pastimes are fishing and helping Soldiers. He has developed a way to do both at the same time. In January, Griffin founded Fly Fishing for Vets, a nonprofit organization designed to give wounded warriors an opportunity to learn the sport of fly-fishing.
“A Soldier once told me that after he lost his leg, he never thought he’d be able to enjoy the outdoors with his kids again.” Griffin said. “At that point, I knew I had to do whatever it took to show wounded Soldiers that they can go out again, and what better way than through fishing.”
Griffin knows firsthand the struggle of being a wounded warrior. As a young lieutenant in Vietnam, he was hit by a mortar round that sent fragments into his back and legs. Fishing helped him return to a sense of normalcy.
“When you’re out fly-fishing, there is nothing more peaceful and beautiful than the surroundings and the peace that it provides,” said Griffin, who worked for the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon before retiring in 2001. He has been fishing for 25 years.
“The first time I went out after my injury, hearing the sound of the water rippling on the rocks made a great impact on me. It provides a sense of healing and independence. The two greatest places in the world to me are on a golf course or on a river fly-fishing.”
The program will give the Soldiers and their families an all expense paid excursion to one of various locations, including Callaway Gardens, where, Soldiers will learn the basics and advanced techniques of catch and release fly-fishing from a professional fishing guide. The Soldiers will be provided with fishing equipment, including a fly rod, reel and line, which they will keep.
The spouses of the Soldiers are treated to a spa day. The couple is also provided with an evening stay at a hotel. The Soldier’s children will be allowed to take part in numerous activities at Callaway. Soldiers are responsible for transportation to the fishing location.
Since January, Griffin has raised nearly $5,000 for the program and received equipment donations from various fishing outlets throughout the state.
“When you’re critically injured, your whole life is changed,” Eady said.
“Your life is turned upside down, and you tend to think you can’t do certain things anymore. So a program like this will be great for me and my family to enjoy some of the things I may have thought I’d lost.”
Griffin, a father of three, also gives his time to the families on post. He and a group volunteer fly-fisherman give fly-fishing workshops to kids during the post’s monthly Family Fishing Nights.
Griffin said the primary goal of the fly-fishing trip is to teach wounded Soldiers an activity they can do for the rest of their lives.
“Let’s face facts, as you get older, you won’t be able to play certain sports anymore,” he said. “We don’t want this to be simply a one-day trip for the Soldiers. Any place in the world where there’s fish, you can do fly-fishing. We hope they’ll want to continue to do it and enjoy it with their families.”
The trip is available to active duty, Reserve and National Guard Soldiers, assigned to the Warrior Transition Battalion.
For information, call Griffin at 678-993-9896. To donate funds to the program, visit wwww.flyfishingforvets.com.
Mitchell.Thomas@militarynews.com