Bruce Dwyer, (center) Military Order of the Purple Heart 2012 Patriot of the Year stands next to other disabled veterans and Mark Conklin, Fort Sill Sportsmen Services director. They show off the newly purchased hunting blind for disabled veterans. (...
FORT SILL, Okla. -- By Bruce Dwyer has been named Patriot of the Year by the Military Order of the Purple Heart. He spends countless hours helping other veterans, raising money for various causes and attends numerous military events with his fellow MOPH members.
That's not what he wants to talk about though. He'd rather spend his time discussing the outdoors. His love for it gave him a shiny black eye recently, but he only laughs when he retells the story.
"This tree was like 20 inches across, but it was a dead tree. I pushed on it and it seemed OK so I put my 10-foot tree stand up and as settled into it, it started going over," said Dwyer.
That won't keep him from going out again as he already has plans for the next weekend's hunting adventure. His passion for the wilderness is only matched by his love for helping disabled veterans.
Dwyer served as an infantryman in the Marine Corps and as a trained forward observer. He retired from the Department of Public Works in 2006 as an engineering technician; ending about 34 years of combined active Marine Corps, Navy and Army civilian service. If that seems like a long time, consider that he has been hunting and fishing for 55 of his 63 years.
He has combined his two passions into one as he raised $12,000 to help disabled veterans enjoy hunting as well. The money was used to buy several things including deluxe hunting blinds that are capable of putting the former service members in prime hunting position.
"I put myself in these guys' shoes. I myself have multiple frag wounds from Vietnam,and I stopped to think about it and realized the main thing that keeps me going is my love of the outdoors," said Dwyer. "I love hunting and fishing. It really doesn't make any difference to me if I shoot a big deer or get a big fish I just love being outdoors."
Dwyer takes these veterans out in the woods with him as they share in the camaraderie of the wild. He said the newly purchased hunting blinds are capable of taking a person who is in a wheel-chair and putting him or her 20 feet into the air with ease. The other one he said looks like a giant hay bale; a camouflaged blind that allows them to shoot their prey.
"I like the idea of helping disabled vets. I come from Vietnam. And at that time, people hated anybody that was in the service when they came home from Vietnam. Think about that. Coming home messed up and people literally spitting on you," said Dwyer.
From this experience he knows firsthand how important it is to support veterans. He said the Soldiers of today's Army may need it the most as they go through frequent deployments only to come home to daily stressors from wear and tear and family issues.
"I can't imagine what it's like to go over there four, five tours like some of these guys have. I did six months and I got blown up and hurt pretty good. I just can't imagine what some of these guys are going through," said Dwyer.
"I feel honored to know today's Soldiers because although I was a volunteer in a time when there was a draft I think these are the best men and women we have ever had in the military," he added.
He said he knows how hard it is to readjust, especially after an injury. He said because of Fort Sill's Sportsman Services Soldiers, civilians and veterans can enjoy a quality program and place to hunt.
"Fort Sill is unique as far as I know in the United States. They're just blessed with abundance of game on three different ranges. They've got hogs, turkey, elk and deer. It's just a wonderful place," said Dwyer.
He said not enough people use the natural resources provided on post. At other military installations he had to drive hours away for good hunting whereas the farthest spot on Fort Sill's ranges is only 45 minutes away.
"Hunting and fishing is a good Soldier skill. It's just beautiful out there," said Dwyer. "It's given me peace and relaxation for 40 years. I figure it's good for other guys too, and it's one of the very best things we can do for our Soldiers, help them relax, gain some peace and maybe bring some meat home."
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