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Following an appearance by Irlene Mandrell, Ray Howell and Doug Besherse took the stage to honor America’s Veterans. The date was August the 5th, 2006, the event was The Deerassic Classic, and the place was Deerassic Park, Cambridge OH.
In attendance were an estimated 20,000 plus spectators watching the events on stage unfold along with viewing it on two huge outdoor video screens, one near the stage, and another one over two hundred yards back in the crowd.
After the two got up on the stage Ray stated that they wanted to honor America’s vets and asked for 10 to come forward and join them. A wave immediately appeared in the crowd as Veterans made their way up to be one of the first 10 to get to the stage. Within seconds there were 10 men in front of the stage where Ray began asking them their names and making conversation with them. Ray addressed the crowd by thanking God for allowing him to be born an American. He then thanked the military for all their personal sacrifices which have allowed him the freedom to follow his boyhood dreams.
The group was asked to arrange themselves in single file which they did with great proficiency. Doug then went down the line asking each one to state his name, where he served and who he had served with. Although the crowd was rowdy from the start it became silent, listening as each man gave his information. Some of the places these men had served were: Korea, Viet Nam, Kuwait, Cambodia, Afghanistan and Iraq. After each man stated his personal information Doug would interact on a personal level with the man asking a follow up question that related to the man’s experience, bragging on the man in some way or looking him in the eye and telling him thank you for his sacrifice. This would be followed by ovations so great they could physically be felt. The crowd then had to be settled down before each man could tell his story. As Doug interacted with each one the emotional bond created between the two was obvious to all and added a definite tone to the already memorable event.
After the last man had finished Doug turned to the crowd and enthusiastically asked “whatta ya think about our boys?” referring to the group of veterans gathered behind him. The crowd responded with a deafening roar reminiscent of a jet airplane taking off. After letting the crowd calm back down Doug looked at them and said in a very serious tone “these guys right here are the best friends you never met” again referring to the veterans. The crowd again became silent as the reality set in as to what our veterans have done for us. Ray continued by saying that at every Kicking Bear camp, he tells the kids to always follow their dreams and to never, never give up, no matter how tough it gets. He ended by thanking the veterans for allowing him the opportunity to help give these kids their dreams and to be able to follow them just like he did.
Ray then presented a Diamond Victory bow by BowTech to one of the vets, and a pair of Nikon binoculars to another and told the rest in line to visit the Kicking Bear booth where they would receive free T-shirts, hats, and Gander Bucks. He then thanked Gander Mountain, BowTech, Nikon, Deerassic and several other Kicking Bear sponsors for making it possible to honor these vets. As the group of veterans filtered back to their seats they were openly thanked by the spectators with handshakes and hugs for their service and sacrifice. After the event when asked what they thought about what has just transpired Doug stated “ You know these guys are our country's greatest asset. They gave up everything, left their families and risked their lives to ensure you and I could have the freedoms we now have. They are true heroes and we love them!. Kicking Bear is a nationwide nonprofit organization designed to help contact Ray Howell at KickingBear.org You can contact Doug Besherse at BowHuntingStuff.com Read about Doug's experiences in Iraq by clicking here. To learn more about Deerassic visit Deerassic.com © Copyright 2005 by Bowhunting.net |
