WOUNDED WARRIOR HUNT

Help Support Ruger Forum:

sixshot

Buckeye
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
1,835
Location
soda springs, idaho
The Wounded Warrior Hunt has came & gone. Daniel & his wife Julia left yesterday after only being able to hunt 2 1/2 days. On the morning of the 3 rd day Daniel received a phone call telling him to make his way back to California. He had spent the morning chasing a nice buck but was unable to get a decent shot.
The following is an article that appeared in the local newspaper about Daniel's hunt, excuse me if some of this is a repeat.



Wounded Warrior Will Be Hosted
to HuntDeer In Soda- Springs Area

by Dick Thompson

Daniel Harrison is one of our
nation's Wounded Warrior Heroes.
Three times wounded in Iraq and
Afghanistan. he still serves our
country as a Marine Corp sniper
trainer. On Oct. 28, 2009 Daniel
and his Marine team were hunting
bad guys and came to a doorway
that Daniel was concerned about.
He told his team they would find
another way in.
He took three steps past the
doorway and one of the team members
stepped up for a closer look
and stepped on the pressure plate of
an IED.
That member lost both legs,
Daniel had both ear drums blown
out, had fragments in his right
shoulder, buttocks, right hand and both legs.
He was wearing a Colt 1911 sidearm
in a custom holster, and heavy
fragments hit his handgun, but
probably saved his life.
Sixty percent of the team was out
of the fight from the lED, but they
continued to fight. Daniel has endured
several surgeries and is now
training our new sniper recruits. He
says be'Il always be a Marine.
In April 2011 I decided I wanted
to share a deer hunt with one of our
nation's many heroes. After contacting
several different gun forums
I had a long list of service men who
had been nominated by people
from all over the country. Some
of these declined because they felt
someone else was more deserving.
Finally we had decided on Daniel
as our Wounded Warrior.
After talking with him several
times we knew he was the right
WOUNDED WARRIOR--Julia and Daniel Harrison were in Caribou
County this week on a wounded warrior hunt. Daniel, a Marine sniper
still on active duty, was wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is here
to hunt mule deer, courtesy of the help from several people and businesses
who are supporting the Marine. Because of ongoing security
measures, his identity has been blocked. After talking with him several times we knew he was the right
one and we developed an internet
and phone friendship leading up to
his hunt. Daniel and his wife, Julia,
will be joining us on Oct. 10 for his
hunt. We found out later Julia actually
owns property in Soda Springs.
Dozens of people from around
the country have volunteered to help
out. Daniel's deer tag and license
have been paid for with their donations.
We even received cash donations
from two people who were
unemployed.
Colt Firearms has donated an exact
duplicate of Daniel's Colt 1911
.45 sidearm he was wearing the day
he was wounded. Another forum
member lias donated a Ruger Blackhawk
.44 special. Also two custom
holsters have been donated, along
with a case of ammunition, bullets,
powder, steel targets, gun accessories,
a week in Hawaii at a condo,
and other goodies.
We also have well over $1,400
in cash that Daniel and Julia will
be receiving when they arrive. All
this came through donations to one
of our countries heroes from complete
strangers that wanted to give
something back to all our men and
women who serve.

Daniel & his wife showed up the day before the hunt & got settled in & we started to get aquainted. I wasn't sure just what to expect from a young guy with some much combat duty under his belt but I do know I've never been so impressed with anyone in my life.
He was very polite & easy going, he was humble, smart, well read, soft spoken, comfortable in his own skin & happy. If you didn't know any better you would think he was a school teacher or a business man.
For security reasons I can't post photo's of Daniel or his wife at this time. I can tell you that both of them were always smiling, always helping out & I've never been called Sir so many times in my life!
Its very refreshing to see a young couple who treat each other so well, I've never seen people this age do what they do. I hope they have 12 children, we need more Daniel & Julia's.
Through the very generous donations from many of you here on Single Actions Forum & the Ruger Forum we were able to give them many well deserved gifts & cash. Because they were married while Daniel was recouperating in the hospital they never really had a honeymoon, thats going to change with their gift of a condo for a week in Hawaii.
As much as we admired Daniel, Julia was just as impressive, just a down to earth girl who's beautiful, educated, athletic & fun! She went with us when we plowed through 8" of snow the first morning, never complaining, enjoying the scenery & the experience & just enjoying being with her husband. She hiked all over the place, spotted deer several times, drove the 4 wheeler while Daniel stalked deer.
Many times he would run up a steep mountain & then maybe back down, he never broke a sweat, was never breathing hard even when wearing a heavy pack & carrying his rifle. His conditioning was amazing.
I think to keep himself in shape he eats raw meat & gun powder for breakfast, washes hit down with liquid nails & puts steel wool on his sandwich instead of cheese!
On the 3rd day he had spotted a big buck & gave chase, the buck got into heavy timber & Daniel came back down the mountain smiling, he hadn't scored but he had throughly enjoyed the trip. Many deer were spotted but because he had to cut the trip short it didn't work out. If only we had had one more day!
When he left he said that he hoped Ridge (my oldest son's son would score, Ridge had just turned 12 & this would be his first year to hunt. Read about Ridge's hunt in another post.
Thanks to each & everyone of you who helped, I've said it before but all of you helped make it possible & they were very deserving.
Daniel is very busy but plans to answer all the cards & letters to those who contributed to his hunt.

Dick
 

mb111263

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
452
Location
USA
Thanks for the report, thanks for everything you did Dick, thanks to everyone here that made this possible, and most of all, thank you Daniel for your service to this great country!
 

contender

Ruger Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
25,448
Location
Lake Lure NC USA
Dern it, I must have a broken monitor. I just bought this one about 2 months ago, and it's all fuzzy & blurry.
While he didn't connect on a mulie, I'm sure the trip will go down as "the experience of a lifetime!" It's not always about the kill.
Thanks so much for all YOU'VE done Dick.
 

callshot

Blackhawk
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Messages
965
Location
Pocatello, Idaho
Plus a couple of thousand to what Dick said. It is rare to meet people of the quality as Dan & Julia. They were easy to talk to and fun to be around. I did't get out hunting with them, but we ate a few meals together and were able to feel of their love for each other and for this country. I can tell each one of you that they truly appreciated all that was done for them. They were over whelmed at first, but just truly grateful for the thoughts and concerns each of you had for them. I was sorry they had to leave before I could get them a huckleberry milk shake. I will bet they will be back when they can and we can take care of it then. Julia wants to have me help her get started raising honey bees sometime down the road. It was a little odd for Dan to call me sir, and we got over it with a smile or two. Thank each one of you and a big thank you to Dick & Ruth Ann for hosting them. Steve
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Messages
9,208
Location
Milo Maine
Thanks for the update Dick, too bad he didn't score but I'm sure he's gratefull and has memories to last a lifetime. Hope everything is OK in California for him. Thanks you for making this hunt possible :) ps
 

dougader

Hunter
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
3,108
Location
OryGun
Awesome, Dick. Thanks for posting this, and thanks to you for getting it all together for Dan. And Thanks to everyone who helped out, donated and said prayers for this hero and his family.
 

Sheriff

Single-Sixer
Joined
May 4, 2010
Messages
461
Location
Oklahoma
Appreciate the report and my hat's off to you,Steve, and Fermin for ramrodding this thing. A BIG thank you to Dan for his service.
 

2 dogs

Buckeye
Joined
Oct 31, 2007
Messages
1,404
Location
South Texas
Our hats are off to YOU, since YOU made a huge contribution Sheriff!!

Without men like you, we couldnt have pulled this off!
 
Joined
Sep 8, 2003
Messages
1,480
Location
So. Ca.
I want to say thank you to all you great folks that made this happen.
I live fourty minutes from camp pendelton, If I can be of some help to Dan and his family I only live fourty minutes from camp pendelton.
Eric
 

Jeff Hoover

Blackhawk
Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
919
Sheriff hit the nail on the head ! Great job Dick, Steve , and Fermin ! What you guys did was wonderfull and very special ! Thank You Dan, For what you do for allowing us to keep our Freedoms !!! You are part of the most commendable profession I can think of ! Thank You !
 

Paracletecomes

Bearcat
Joined
Oct 23, 2011
Messages
5
Location
Under the shade and in the sand
Hello everyone,

I just wanted to jump on here and say hello finally. Things here at work have slowed enough for a few days to do so. But to everyone that contributed and helped out on the hunt THANK YOU SO MUCH. Julia and I had such a great time, meeting new friends and learning new things. It was an absolute pleasure to be a guest of Dick and Ruth Ann and Steve as well. We were not able to get a deer, but had so a great time never the less. Learned to cast bullets, load up said bullets and more importantly learned about the depth of love American Patriots have for their servicemen. It was truly an honor and we are beyond blessed. I still cant figure out why God has been so very gracious to me but figure I must have many more days to serve him.

Thanks again to you all, Julia and I had such a good time!

D&J
 

callshot

Blackhawk
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Messages
965
Location
Pocatello, Idaho
Welcome Dan. Congratulations on your first post. I went out hunting last evening with Dick and I got the same number of deer that you did. Good to get out. You and Julia are welcome at our camp fire anytime, and welcome to the Fan club. Steve :lol:
 

contender

Ruger Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
25,448
Location
Lake Lure NC USA
Welcome to the Forum Dan!!!!!!!!
It's great to hear from you. I can say I too know the warmth & friendship that Dick, Ruth Anne, Steve & the bunch from Soda gives out. But more importantly, as an old soldier, I also fully appreciate you as a Marine, and the feelings you have as a serviceman to our country. No matter the branch, no matter when we served, we are all brothers in arms who write a blank check to our country, payable up to our lives, for our family & friends to live free. For your service, I thank you my brother.
I know you have read the posts above, the cards etc. Know that all of us wrote those words from our hearts. So, a simple "thank you" from us is not enough, but it is from our hearts. God Bless you & Julia.
 

2 dogs

Buckeye
Joined
Oct 31, 2007
Messages
1,404
Location
South Texas
Thanks for stopping in Dan!! Its great to hear from you. Hope you are doing well and so happy to hear you enjoyed yourself!!!

We're a big bunch of pot stirrers and trouble makers around here (cept Steve, he makes HONEY), so stick around cuz we'd be pleased to have ya!

Keep your Callshot special close!
 
Top