“I was invited to go on a turkey hunt with Hope for Heroes and would like to start out by telling Mitch and his team – you are true professionals. I had the time of my life. It is great to get out and take your mind off of stuff and just relax. The scenery was amazing, the food was great, and the hospitality was top notch. I was on a TV hunt with Chad and Dana from wall hanger TV, and they were awesome. Mitch you and your team are amazing keep up the great thing your doing. Thank you, God Bless!”
– Heath Runion
“Thanks to Hope for Heroes for helping me get back in to the woods like I did before I lost my leg. With the help that I was given I was able to harvest my first turkey with a bow! It proved that I am not disabled I am enabled!”
-SSG (retired) Adam “Tripod” Peacock
“Glad to see the org is doing well, please know, you guys changed my life, something I never told you, or anyone for that matter, but I had planned to end things the week before I was up there, then I got the call for the trip, then I went and met you and all the others, and it gave me hope and courage to go on, please keep this between us, at least as to who told you this, but I just thought you needed to know that you and your organization literally saved my life.”
– Member
-SSG (retired) Adam “Tripod” Peacock
“I am a medically retired Army Sgt. W. Arthur Meyer. I was the first recipient of this incredible organization, and I am proud to say I still do all I can to give back to this organization. It has been an honor and a privilege to have met and worked with Hope for Heroes. They honor me with allowing me to help fill some of their events with wounded combat veterans like myself. I have personally had this experience change my life, however nothing compares to witnessing another hero’s life changing experience. To see the life “returned” to these heroes with the simple gesture of a hunting, or fishing trip is something to behold. Many wounded soldiers don’t have much in life but the lingering pain and constant medical care. To have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in ways you might not ever have thought possible, and to be made to feel as if our sacrifice was noticed by more than just our immediate family is the greatest morale boost I have ever had. These heroes are wounded psychologically in ways you can not understand unless you have experienced combat first hand. P.T.S.D. is no joke. It can be the most horrifying and embarrassing of demons to show up and steal all that is good and fun from you and all who are around you. One of these soldiers in particular has demons so intense he doesn’t leave his house for months at a time, so him making it to this event was a courageous act in itself for this young man. To see the glow in his cheeks, and to hear him say he hasn’t had this much fun since before his trauma was gift enough to my ears, but to hear what his wife had to say was priceless for me. ” It was the first time I have seen the smile reach my husbands eyes since before he was injured!” is what this wife, caregiver, mother, and hero in her own right had to say. What better compliment can be made? I know that smile, I want that smile, my family needs to see “that” smile, but this is a rare and illusive thing for combat vets, that we don’t even know or believe even exists any more. I know the pain these heroes go through first hand. I know what it takes to interact with society again. I understand the fears and stressors involved and I want nothing more than for our heroes to enjoy the freedoms we have so passionately fought for. Hope For Heroes is a starting point for this, to show our heroes that there is a country of patriots behind them that will not let their sacrifices go unnoticed! To give them “Hope” for their future. This is the gift every soldier deserves, and to be part of an organization that passes out dreams and “smiles that reach the eyes” as if they were nothing more than a cookie, is truly magical! Support the heroes of our great nation – in whatever way you can – for they were willing to give their lives so freedom may ring in your house as well as mine. Thank you Hope for Heroes with all of my heart! You have helped me and so many other veterans make forward progress in our ongoing recovery!”
– W. Arthur Meyer
