Hunt for Heroes Revived

This afternoon the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce hosted a Hunt for Heroes parade to honor those veterans who were wounded during war. As part of that honor, this weekend will be full of hunting and camaraderie for these veterans, which was coordinated by the San Angelo Support for Veterans, Inc. and Lone Star Outdoors (a veteran-run charity based in Tyler, TX). Overall, there were approximately 24 veterans honored who flew into San Angelo from around the U.S. specifically for this event. These veterans represent all branches.

This is not the first time Wounded Warrior have been honored in West Texas.

In 2012, Midland hosted the Wounded Warriors parade--an event that ended in tragedy as a freight train crashed into a parade float making its way across the West Texas railroad crossing carrying wounded veterans and their families. Four people were killed, and 17, injured. This event caused a halt on the tradition until this year with the event resuming in San Angelo. A representative from the San Angelo Chambers of Commerce stated the Midland Wounded Warriors had wished to attend and support but were unable to make the trip.

During the middle of the parade, when the veterans who were being honored were being drove through, an attendee stood in the middle of the road and ensured that he shook every veterans hand as they drove by. This display rose a hearty applause from the crowd.

After the parade, the veterans are scheduled to depart for the local West Texas ranches until Dec. 14^th for their expense-paid hunts.

There were many veterans in attendance along with numerous supporters. Jim Cochran, a fellow supporter, attends as many veteran events and parades as possible and has attended the Hunt for Heroes every year San Angelo has hosted it. Ed LeClair and his wife Roberta were a veteran couple who came out to show their support as well. Mr. LeClair served 3 years active duty: 19 months were served in Korea, and 8 years active reserve duty. He said he wished he could have done more but admitted, "When I was that age, all I thought about was getting out. But I grew up a military brat so I’ve been all over and seen many places.”

There were a few attendees who were upset that their significant others couldn’t attend due to the time in which the parade began as they were unable to get off work. A few of the other complaints were that the event wasn’t well advertised and many found out through other people last minute.