Nebraskaland

42 Nebraskaland • August-September 2019 STORY AND PHOTOS BY ERIC FOWLER hen a roadside bomb exploded next to the vehicle David Landon and his fellow soldiers were riding in on a road in Iraq in 2009, Landon was thrown clear and the others killed instantly. When a fi refi ght ensued, others in the patrol had orders to pull back and nearly left him for dead. But one soldier thought he saw Landon move, ran into the gunfi re and dragged him back to safety. That was only one of the horrors Landon experienced. When he returned home to Omaha, he went into a shell. He rarely left his bedroom. Once outgoing, he didn't want to talk to people, not even family. When Landon would see an out- of-place box or backpack alongside a city street while riding in his mom's car, he curled up in a ball on the fl oor. That has all changed since 2015, when Landon picked up a fl y rod and started fi shing with other disabled veterans who have similar stories. The program that introduced him to the sport is aptly named: Project Healing Waters. For many of the 8,300 disabled current and former service members taking part across the country, the therapeutic value of fi shing has been life changing. PROJECT HEALING WATERS got its start at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., in 2005. It was the brainchild of Ed Nicholson, a Navy captain about to retire and a cancer patient there. Walking the halls, Nicholson saw wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, many missing limbs. He thought getting them outdoors and away from the hospital would help. Nicholson took a few of them fi shing, and soon after, others joined to help. They off ered weekly casting lessons on the lawn and fl y-tying classes indoors. From there, Project Healing Waters was born. Led by volunteers from local chapters of Fly Fishers International, Trout Unlimited and independent fl y-fi shing clubs, the organization now has programs in 219 locations in every state and Germany. There are two programs in Nebraska, with Lincoln's affi liated with the Cornhusker Fly Fishers, and Omaha's with Trout Unlimited. Its mission is to help in the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active military service personnel and veterans through fl y- casting, fl y-tying and rod building classes and fi shing outings at Department of Defense hospitals, Warrior Transition Units, and Veterans Aff airs medical centers and clinics throughout the United States. One of the wounded service members to take part that fi rst year was a Nebraska native, David Folkerts. Folkerts grew up on a farm near York, joined the Nebraska Army National Guard and decided to make the military a career while at Wayne State College. He graduated in 2004, completed his training and joined the 70th Engineer Battalion, 1st Armor Division, at Fort Riley, Kansas. In March of 2005, Folkerts was off to Taji, Iraq. His unit's job was to make sure roads were clear of roadside bombs and provide security for troops and others on the route. A month after he arrived, he volunteered to be on the team that would lead his platoon down a road to a helicopter crash site. When a roadside W Volunteer Will Sizemore of Omaha helps Jim Titus, an Army and Navy veteran from Omaha, fish during an outing at Conagra Lake in Heartland America Park in Omaha. Project Healing Waters PHOTO COURTESY OF PAULA KRUGERUD PHOTOGRAPHY

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