Three Purple Heart recipients, veterans from Texas are being treated to a trophy hunt on Friday, December 7th with the Heart of Texas Chapter of the Buckmasters American Deer Foundation. The public is asked to line the sides of Highway 45 just south of Brownwood at the National Guard Armory to show respect and honor to the vets as they travel to the hunt.
These veterans all received their wounds while deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan according to Tim Schoen, chairman of the Heart of Texas chapter of Buckmasters. Schoen stated that the group will arrive in Brownwood around 12:30pm Friday afternoon.
“We arranged the hunt as a way we can show our support,” said Schoen. He explained that the hunt is arranged through the Taking Heroes Hunting project. The hunters are selected by referral through the Hope for the Warriors, an organization that works to enhance the quality of life for post-9/11 service members, their families, and families of the fallen who have sustained physical and psychological wounds in the line of duty.
Buckmasters is taking care of the expense of the hunt, processing of the deer, and mounting the deer. A portion of the meat will be donated to the Deer Project of Good Samaritan. The veterans will also be invited to a banquet where they will be honored and presented with the mounts of the deer according to Schoen.For those who wish to show support of the veteran hunters, parking will be available at the National Guard Armory and overflow parking, if necessary, is being offered at Richmond Farm Supply. Supporters are encouraged to bring flags, signs or banners to help honor these veterans.
The Buckmaster American Deer Association was founded in 1990 to fill a need when programs such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation quit offering hunts to its clients, said Schoen. He said the local chapter was started approximately 7 years ago and is one of the most active chapters in the nation.
“We are a small group of individuals who just want to help out terminally ill and disabled children and wounded warriors,” said Schoen of the local Buckmasters chapter.
