PORT ANGELES — While standing on the bank of a pond, his hands gently holding a fly-fishing rod and line, Richard Lester felt worlds apart from the feelings of anxiety and depression that have afflicted him since his service in the Gulf War.
“This is therapy,” said the 47-year-old Air Force veteran, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Lester was one of about 20 military servicemen and veterans who traveled to a pair of ponds off Eden Valley Road west of Port Angeles on Saturday to enjoy a sunny day and the peace that comes with not having anything to worry about but the fish on the line.
Under a blue sky dotted with slow-moving fluffy, white clouds, surrounded by tree-covered hills with a gentle breeze brushing against his back, Lester said it didn’t take long for his troubles to melt away, at least for a day.
“I’ve been here 15 minutes and my blood pressure has gone down 25 points,” he said in between casts.
Organized by Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishers, the second annual gathering at Pooh’s Ponds was part of a national program for veterans, known a Project Healing Waters.
The project aims to give servicemen and women therapy through the simple serenity that comes with a day spent fishing.
The anglers, both veterans and current service members, came from the Seattle Veterans Hospital and Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma.
Lifetime to heal
Their service spanned generations, from Vietnam to Operation Iraqi Freedom, showing that some wounds take a lifetime to heal.
Casting near Lester was Tom Grafstrom, a Vietnam veteran, who suffers from depression attributed to the conflict.
Grafstrom, a 63-year-old patient at the veterans hospital, said he was just glad to have a change of scenery.
“It’s just a chance to get out,” he said.
“In the hospitals, we don’t get out very much.”
Not all of their injuries are mental.
On the bank of the adjacent pond was Nicholas Lafayette, who is recovering from neck and spine injuries he sustained while serving in Iraq.
Lafayette said he received the injuries when his Stryker vehicle fell off a 75-foot-high bridge and rolled four times after an improvised explosive device exploded.
“This is one of the better [support] groups,” said the 20-year-old Army service member, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
“It’s more hands-on, and the mentor is right here with you.”
Multiple benefits
But why fly fishing?
Mike Thorson, their casting instructor for the day, explained it requires the service members and veterans to be more involved in the sport than using a traditional rod, which in turn allows them to become focused on what they are doing and not the “hustle or bustle” of life.
He compared it to the difference between bow and rifle hunting.
“It’s a little more peaceful, less run-and-gun,” Thorson said.
Dean Childs, who helped organize the first fishing trip last year, said it also helps participants realize that there is still a lot out there that they can do.
“By teaching them something fairly hard . . . it makes them realize they can do other things,” he said.
“It gets them out of the funk they are in.”
Childs said the event will continue, and hopefully, by the time of the next fishing trip, a wooden boat the club is building with the help of veterans and service members will be finished.
The boat will be donated to Project Healing Waters, he said.
Even before next year comes, he knows there will be even more service members in need of the therapy the fishing club provides.
“We’re getting new customers all the time,” said Childs, 72.
“We wished that customers would go away, but they’re not.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
