PORT ANGELES — While the fishing was hit-and-miss, the appreciation for wounded veterans was immense at the three-day Wounded Warriors Marine Event hosted by the Korean War Veterans’ Association.
Eight wounded veterans from Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma and Sarge’s Place in Forks spent the weekend fishing for salmon in the Strait of Juan de Fuca with local anglers.
“It’s going well,” said Clallam County Veterans’ Coordinator Tammy Sullenger, when reached by cellphone on a boat Friday afternoon, though she said the fishing was “hit and miss.”
The injured veterans were joined by their wives and children for three days of complementary fishing and sightseeing in Port Angeles.
“Chuck Gagnon and Jerry Rettela of the KWA [Korean War Veterans’ Association] have worked very hard to make this happen, along with generous donations from organizations and people in our community,” Sullenger said in an email.
“This is an opportunity for local veterans to show their gratitude to the wounded warriors and gives [the veterans] an opportunity to enjoy a day away from the often painful healing they are going through.”
The 7 Cedars Casino provided lunch for the veterans upon their arrival Thursday afternoon.
The service members took in the sights of Port Angeles, including an underground tour, before a meet-and-greet and spaghetti feed at the Elks Naval Lodge.
Rettela, KWA president and event co-organizer, said the Elks provided the location for the spaghetti feed, the accounts receivable, and breakfast and lunches for the anglers.
The Elks received a $2,000 grant for the event, Rettela said.
The veterans and their families stayed in rooms donated by local hotels.
After fishing all day Friday, the anglers were treated to a salmon bake hosted by the Lower Elwha tribe.
They left the Port Angeles Boat Haven early Saturday and fished until noon.
Then they returned to the Elks lodge for fishing derby awards, Sullenger said.
Last month, a group of Clallam Bay Corrections Center employees hosted a wounded warrior appreciation with a two-day salmon derby, backyard barbecue, a bluegrass hoedown and auction in Sekiu.
The Wounded Warrior Project helps service members who incurred service-connected wounds, injuries or illnesses on or after Sept. 11, 2001, and the families of those service members.
The project’s goal is “to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history,” according to the Florida-based group’s website, www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
