I had the honor to fish with Brent Calender of the USMC yesterday in the wounded warriors benefit tournament in Decatur Alabama. I want to take a minute to tell you a story that is fitting for this day. It is the story of Brent and the day he was injured in combat in Iraq. Brent and two other members of his unit were responding to a call of enemy fire in a suspected enemy area. Brent was manning the gun on top of the hummer that his unit was in. A Sniper shot Brent and the bullet pierced his bullet proof vest and hit a lung and his spine. As he layed over the gun unable to move the vehicle they were in ran over a bomb in the road, the explosion killed the other two members of the crew and threw him 15 feet from the vehicle. As he layed there unable to move his legs he was shot two more times. The enemy thought he was dead, and was the only reason they quit shooting.  He said as he was struggling to remain alive when he went into cardiac arrest and blacked out. He awoke in a hospital to be told he would never walk again. Four months later he regained strength in his legs and can now walk with a cane. 

For 5 hours yesterday I heard the most unbelievable stories of courage and honor from one of this countries TRUE heroes. By the end of the day as I was telling Brent how much appreciation I had for all he had done for our country he said, "Tim, I was simply doing my job" 

As I went to bed last night and thought about his statement " I was just doing my job", I thought about our freedoms to enjoy the outdoors and all we do in this country. Brent and I finished 2nd in the tournament. He could not quit talking about how great it was to be fishing, what a beautiful day it was, and how much he appreciated the opportunity. I even caught a double which he thought was the coolest thing. 

Brent and all the other Veterans of this great country are the reason we have these opportunities, isnt it ironic that he was thanking me for the opportunity that all of the past and present men and women of our armed forces have given us.