JONESBORO, Ark. — This could have been an uncomfortable situation for anyone: Competing in a bass tournament with a Bassmaster Elite Series pro partner for all the world to see your fishing skills, or lack thereof, on “Bassmaster LIVE.”
And for a military veteran who has earned a Purple Heart medal, it might be even more stressful. What’s supposed to be a lighthearted outing could feel like an unwanted spotlight.
But the latest edition of the OPTIMA Batteries Edwin Evers Healing Heroes in Action Tour presented by General Tire was anything but a pressure-cooker for anyone involved. And that was despite temperatures that reached the mid 90s on a private lake near here.
See photos: On the water | Launch and weigh-in
“The only pressure I feel is trying to find a way to communicate how much I appreciate everything that was done for us,” said Chris Ritchie, who earned his Purple Heart as a Navy Seabee, when a mortar round killed five of his fellow soldiers, wounded 30 and sent three pieces of shrapnel through his abdomen during the Iraq War in 2004. “So much was done for us, and I don’t know how to appropriately say thanks.”
That’s the kind of pressure anyone would savor.
This marked the third of four events in the second year of Evers’ efforts to honor U.S. military veterans. With experience comes wisdom. Everyone involved has learned something in each event, something that will make the next one better.
Maybe no one has learned more than Levi Crawford, who participated in the first Healing Heroes event this year. Crawford, who lives in Jonesboro, spent weeks putting together this event, which included an overnight stay for all involved at the luxurious Stan Jones Mallard Lodge and transportation to dinner at Skinny J’s Restaurant in a stretch Hummer limousine.
“The best thing I heard was how much these guys enjoyed the camaraderie,” Crawford said. “It wasn’t just go to a hotel room, then go fishing the next morning. By the time the tournament started, it was fishing with friends instead of strangers.”
As for the tournament itself, which had a five bass limit (three caught by the W.W.I.A. participant and two by the pro), here are the results:
- Pro Brent Chapman and WWIA Joseph Secrease, 17.70 pounds;
- Pro Edwin Evers and WWIA Chris Ritchie, 16.64 pounds;
- Mark Boling and Jared Boling, 16.09 pounds;
- Pro Cliff Crochet and WWIA Bryan Gray, 11.09 pounds.
Mark Boling owns a truck brokerage business in Stuttgart, Ark. He and his son, Jared, won the bidding to participate. It’s this bidding process which raises money that goes directly to the Wounded Warriors In Action Foundation. It should be noted that the winning bid was the highest of the seven tournaments.
Boling’s other son, Ross, lost the coin flip to his brother to determine who would fish with their father. But he was included in all the other activities, and got to sneak away to another private lake and catch more bass than anyone in the tournament.
“It was an awesome event,” Mark Boling said. “I think Levi (Crawford) outdid himself. For both me and my boys to be able to participate in something like this was special.”
If you want camaraderie in a group of guys, a good place to start building it is with Cliff Crochet, the Elite Series pro from Pierre Part, La. The good times always roll when Crochet is around. Even when you can’t understand some of the things he’s saying in his thick Cajun accent, its impossible not to smile.
Crochet and Bryan Gray finished last in total weight for the tournament but were probably first in fun. Gray, who lives in Gainesville, Ga., has built a humorous perspective into the fact that he lost his left eye and his left thumb when an improvised explosive device (IED) tore through his Humvee in Iraq in 2006.
Instead of a “high five” slapping of hands to celebrate a moment, Gray offers a “high four.” He noted that with his lack of a left thumb, he can’t give the “two thumbs up” sign and can hitchhike in only one direction.
Even when he’s asked a serious question about his injuries, Gray provides perspective on accentuating the positive. About losing his left eye, Gray said, “I’m just thankful I’ve got one eye to watch my kids grow up.”
Gray has a large tattoo on his right forearm that reads, “22 January 2006.” It’s known as his “alive date,” somewhat akin to a birthdate. That’s when the IED struck.
“We call it our alive date because we shouldn’t be, but we are,” Gray said. “With Purple Heart guys, especially the ones injured in IED blasts like me, where none of us should be alive, it’s important. I don’t celebrate my birthday anymore. I celebrate my alive date.”
He laughed and added, “I’m only 10 years old. I’m not aging worth a damn.”
Joseph Seacrease is from nearby Brookland, Ark. Like Gray, he was injured when an IED tore through his Humvee. It injured four other occupants and killed their Iraqi interpreter in 2007. He suffered three fractured vertebrae and a traumatic brain injury.
Seacrease has no regrets, saying, “I wish I could go back in the Army.”
He and Chapman took the fishing honors in more ways that one. Chapman began the day by catching a 50-pound flathead catfish on a jig before he and Seacrease started compiling their winning bag of bass.
The day ended after the noon weigh-in with a feast, provided lakeside by The Rack Pack, which consists of professional barbequers Dewayne Daniel and Chris Newman of Jonesboro. In addition to competitions and catering, Daniel and Newman are part of an organization named Operation BBQ Relief, which goes to disaster areas to provide free meals for victims of tornadoes, floods, etc.
The Rack Pack has delivered 735,000 free meals at 38 disaster areas in 19 states, according to Daniel.
“Providing a hot meal for somebody picking through their belongings with a 5-gallon bucket will change your life,” Daniel said.
It was a fitting end to the day, all of which can be summed up in a line from “The Prayer of St. Francis”: “For it is in giving that we receive.”
