Kansas Veteran’s Turkey Hunt 2023

Kansas Veteran’s Turkey Hunt 2023

By Ray Howell

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

John 15:13

The annual Veterans KB turkey hunt in Kansas has always been an absolute blast.

Throughout the years I’ve had the opportunity to meet many veterans and guide them in their turkey hunts. Just before the Kicking Bear events start, is the time-proven best time to have the veterans out to hunt. In Kansas, we partner with Scott Anderson, who is a longtime friend of Kicking Bear and founder of Patriots of Praise. This year friends of Patriots of Praise and Kicking Bear, Kevin Murphy and Andrew Bizzell volunteered to guide hunts with veterans. Patriots of Praise friend Alex Rohr came on the hunt also. A really great crew was set up to serve the ones who have served our country. And the end result of the hunt was that all the veterans got a bird!

This year’s Veteran Hunters were:

William Thomas – US Army

Brian Hatina – US Army

Bruce Bennett – US Marine Corp

Cindy Weltha – US Air Force

Matt Lee – US Air Force

From the Patriots of Praise website

Patriots of Praise was established in 2014 and is a faith-based Kansas based 501c3 organization dedicated to serving our Country’s Active Duty Soldiers, Veterans, Disabled Veterans, and Gold Star Family members.

We understand the stresses and dynamic nature of military life and how it impacts lives, marriages, and families. We have learned that God doesn’t waste pain and by keeping our faith first we can experience true healing and overcome the things life throws at us.

We are committed to providing an environment where service members of various backgrounds can come and disengage through the outdoors. They have fun in sport, decompress, develop relationships and many begin or continue the healing process.

We honor them for their service and show our appreciation for the freedoms they provide our country.

We are proud to serve the men and women of our military – we use hunting and fishing to build relationships, but our first love and deepest commitment will always be to proclaim the healing power of Jesus Christ. It is a wonderful opportunity to sow into the lives of our warriors who suffer from physical, emotional, and spiritual scars as a result of their brave service.

Let me tell you a little about the hunt that I was blessed to guide. I met Matt Lee, an Air Force Veteran, and it just so happens he had never hunted turkeys before. Matt is the son of Tom Lee, a great friend and camp champion for Kicking Bear in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. It meant a lot to me to be able to take him out for his first turkey hunt.

We took the time to get him set up knowing where the shot placement should be on a big bird and practiced so he would be very accurate with his shotgun. Then off to the field we went to try and call in a turkey! It is extremely hot there this time of the year so the wood ticks and the bugs can just about drive you crazy sometimes. However, the thought of taking a big bird kind of puts that all to the side. Matt and I were going to go get him that bird even though it was really hot out that night. When we got out in the bling the turkeys were not gobbling and all was quiet. I didn’t know if a bird would even show up. But we kept calling and our spirits were up.

Matt and I got pretty excited when a big bird appeared out of nowhere and came in close, but it would not stop moving! So, Matt was not comfortable with the shot. Then suddenly it just turned and walked out of our sight. About a half hour later though, the bird came back through again looking for the hen who had been doing all the talking. This time the bird was not alone. The new bird was the one Matt wanted and it stood still for a second longer than it should have.

Matt made a perfect shot and pinched his first turkey!

It is so incredible to sit in the blind with a veteran and listen to the stories and remember the blessing of us having our freedom through the things that they have sacrificed for us. Congratulations to Matt, William, Brian, Bruce, and Cindy. Thank you all for your service to the country and we all look forward to doing it again!