Post by shoreman on Feb 23, 2006 20:52:49 GMT -5
Hunting club hosts free duck hunt for Camp Pendleton servicemembers
www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/0/E56759EE946998E88525711E006A2AAF?opendocument
PINE VALLEY, Calif. –– (Feb 23, 2006) -- Fifteen members of the Pendleton Sportsman Club had a free day of hunting here on behalf of the Green Head Hunting Club when it hosted a military appreciation on its property Feb. 11.
The event that united the Marines and Sailors, who appreciate the trio of guns, barbecue and hunting, for a day of sportsman activities was a way the club could show their military support, explained club member Al Hoyo, 58, of San Clemente.
The Vietnam War veteran, who served with the Army’s 25th Infantry Division, understands the importance of showing gratitude to servicemembers.
“I thought it was a great idea to put this time together,” said Hoyo, who served in Vietnam as a mechanized flamethrower with the 65th Combat Engineer Battalion from 1967-1968. “We did this to put smiles on the (servicemembers’) faces. For all that they do to protect our freedom, this is the least we can do. We’re all brothers, and it’s nice to have some fun hanging out and shooting once in a while.”
The day kicked off with the servicemembers shooting sporting clays at 9 a.m. After two hours of shooting and several hundred spent 12-gauge-shotgun shells, the servicemembers embarked on the duck hunt.
Beside the fact that the ammunition and entire outing was free, this particular hunt was different to what most of the sportsmen were accustomed to, because there was an almost endless supply of Mallard ducks.
Positioned in shooting bunkers in a field by a lake on the club’s 100 acres, the shooters were kept occupied by flocks of ducks flying over them every five to 10 minutes for several hours.
“They just kept flying over,” said Gunnery Sgt. Jason J. Texeira, motor transportation chief, 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion, 1st Marine Division. “I can’t say enough for it. It’s great what the club is doing for us.”
During the course of the hunt, Texeira, 31, of Kona, Hawaii, downed several ducks. The avid hunter relished the opportunity to spend a day of hunting on someone else’s dime.
“You can’t beat a deal like this,” said the veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, who swept through Fallujah with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in November 2004. “The experience was great. We shot clays, went duck hunting and were fed good barbecue. All we had to do was show up.”
Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew J. Nickum, an operations specialist stationed aboard the USS McClusky, grew up hunting in Hollidaysburg, Pa., and took delight in the outing.
“I’m an avid hunter, and this means so much for me,” said the 20-year-old. “This is the first time I’ve been able to hunt since I’ve been in California.”
The Green Head Hunting Club is comprised of 125 hunting enthusiasts who live throughout California.
According to club member Paul A. Moote, the club raises 5,000 Mallard ducks per year for shooting. The ducks begin their lives as ducklings hatched at a hatchery in Wisconsin. When they are one-year-old, they’re shipped to San Diego, where members of the club pick them up and raise them, he said.
www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/0/E56759EE946998E88525711E006A2AAF?opendocument
PINE VALLEY, Calif. –– (Feb 23, 2006) -- Fifteen members of the Pendleton Sportsman Club had a free day of hunting here on behalf of the Green Head Hunting Club when it hosted a military appreciation on its property Feb. 11.
The event that united the Marines and Sailors, who appreciate the trio of guns, barbecue and hunting, for a day of sportsman activities was a way the club could show their military support, explained club member Al Hoyo, 58, of San Clemente.
The Vietnam War veteran, who served with the Army’s 25th Infantry Division, understands the importance of showing gratitude to servicemembers.
“I thought it was a great idea to put this time together,” said Hoyo, who served in Vietnam as a mechanized flamethrower with the 65th Combat Engineer Battalion from 1967-1968. “We did this to put smiles on the (servicemembers’) faces. For all that they do to protect our freedom, this is the least we can do. We’re all brothers, and it’s nice to have some fun hanging out and shooting once in a while.”
The day kicked off with the servicemembers shooting sporting clays at 9 a.m. After two hours of shooting and several hundred spent 12-gauge-shotgun shells, the servicemembers embarked on the duck hunt.
Beside the fact that the ammunition and entire outing was free, this particular hunt was different to what most of the sportsmen were accustomed to, because there was an almost endless supply of Mallard ducks.
Positioned in shooting bunkers in a field by a lake on the club’s 100 acres, the shooters were kept occupied by flocks of ducks flying over them every five to 10 minutes for several hours.
“They just kept flying over,” said Gunnery Sgt. Jason J. Texeira, motor transportation chief, 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion, 1st Marine Division. “I can’t say enough for it. It’s great what the club is doing for us.”
During the course of the hunt, Texeira, 31, of Kona, Hawaii, downed several ducks. The avid hunter relished the opportunity to spend a day of hunting on someone else’s dime.
“You can’t beat a deal like this,” said the veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, who swept through Fallujah with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in November 2004. “The experience was great. We shot clays, went duck hunting and were fed good barbecue. All we had to do was show up.”
Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew J. Nickum, an operations specialist stationed aboard the USS McClusky, grew up hunting in Hollidaysburg, Pa., and took delight in the outing.
“I’m an avid hunter, and this means so much for me,” said the 20-year-old. “This is the first time I’ve been able to hunt since I’ve been in California.”
The Green Head Hunting Club is comprised of 125 hunting enthusiasts who live throughout California.
According to club member Paul A. Moote, the club raises 5,000 Mallard ducks per year for shooting. The ducks begin their lives as ducklings hatched at a hatchery in Wisconsin. When they are one-year-old, they’re shipped to San Diego, where members of the club pick them up and raise them, he said.