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By Charlene Rubush, September 20, 2011 1:55 pm

I love it when I read articles like the one I stumbled across today. Kristine Gill reports from The Naples News in Florida, of a recent fishing tournament honoring veterans.

Take a Veteran Fishing Tournament took place on Saturday, at Calusa Island Marina in Goodland, Florida. Troy Pruitt, a competitive fisherman has participated in tournaments all along Southwest Florida, as well as The Keys But for the Naples native, no tournament has been as emotional as this event. “I get choked up thinking about it,” said the 38-year-old, who accompanied two Army veterans for a day of fishing at Goodland Bay. “There’s so much emotion. Win or lose it doesn’t matter. What these guys do for us is amazing, defending our country and our freedom.”

About 100 combat veterans from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa fished on Saturday, in an event celebrating the efforts of area veterans in recent wars.

Pruitt’s boat of Army men won, catching the four-fish limit for a total of 17.96 pounds.

Mike Wieczorek, 46, a New York native stationed in Tampa, served in Afghanistan last summer. He said, “It’s awesome. Winning is great.”

Money raised through a raffle and auction this year will be donated to the Wounded Warriors Project, which helps injured veterans across the country. In its first year, 40 veterans showed for fishing and food at the marina.

Mark Finger, 62, said of the event. “I think it’s great. We didn’t have anything like this when I came home from Vietnam.”

To read the complete article:

http://naplesnews.com/news/2011/sep24/take-a-veteran-fishing-goodland-soldiers/?

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News like this just thrills my heart. I can only look back and imagine how the public’s acceptance and respect might have helped our Vietnam vets when they came home. So glad to know things are changing for the better in that regard. Better late than never.