In Memoriam
Bass Fishing Folks Remember, Offer Thanks

Photo: National Combat History Archive (NCHA)

Memorial day, to some, means little more than a day off of work. But for most of us, it's one of the most significant days of the year. And for many, it's a day of sadness, when loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice are remembered, and honored.

The origins of Memorial Day predate the U.S. Civil War. It was originally called Decorating Day, for the practice of adorning the graves of those who had died in battle. The first official observance of Memorial Day was May 30, 1868 – a little more than 3 years after Appomattox.

Memorial Day now, as always, is a day in honor of those who've died serving America during times of war.

Below are several messages from those in the fishing industry for our fallen heroes. Many also took this opportunity to thank the men and women currently overseas, and in harm's way. God bless them.

BassFan encourages everyone to spare time this Monday, Memorial Day, to remember, and to pass the legacy of remembrance on to following generations.

A cemetery visit, a personal memorial at home, a parade attendance, a letter to friends or family members – it may seem a small token for those who were asked to make the ultimate sacrifice and asked nothing in return, but a gathering of campfires eventually grows to a blaze, and the thoughts of millions – spoken or silent – can never be extinguished.

Our Freedom
It's mid-1967, and the Tet Offensive's in full swing in Vietnam. I'm sitting in a hooch in a camp just south of the DMZ. I'm 22 years old and I've just finished my tour. I'm cleared and about to go home.

For the past year, as a means of escape, I devoured magazines and books on fishing whenever I could. My brother Ron and I talked (by letter) about opening a bait shop and guide service in northern Wisconsin, and I'm going to partner with him as soon as I get home. I'm really pumped and constantly dreaming about what the future would hold for me.

I'd fished some very, very early bass tournaments and although I didn't know it at the time, the whole modern angling revolution was beginning to explode. For example, the BASS Master tournament trail was about to commence, and I, as a young fisherman, would become an integral part of it. I was truly full of great expectations.

As I was about to board the airplane on the tarmac, I saw off to the side some other guys who were leaving Vietnam with me, except they were in boxes. There's not a day I'm on the water, feeling the exhilaration of the freedoms we enjoy in this country, that I forget someone else purchased it – and purchased it with his or her blood.

This Memorial Day, God bless everyone and their families who made this sacrifice.
– Al Linder, fishing legend and host of Angling Edge television

A Privilege
I've had the pleasure over the last couple of years of getting to meet a lot of the men and women who are just on their way to, or just coming back from, Afghanistan and Iraq. Some of the fishermen – the Mizes, Elton Luce – have got family members over there, and it all really hits home to me personally.

I get to make a living at something that I love to do. The big reason for that is because of all the people who've fought for our freedom, and are fighting for it today. It's not a right, it's definitely a privilege, and it comes with a cost.
– Kevin VanDam, professional angler

Photo: NCHA

As Americans, we too have our heroes, and some in our society have not always been kind to our veterans. That's why Memorial Day is so important. It reminds us that liberty has a dear price tag, and that we should get down on our knees to honor and pray for those who served, those who died, and those who serve today.

So please, this Memorial Day, visit a veterans cemetery, attend a Memorial Day parade or function, and cheer for all you're worth. Be sure to take your children and share with them why Memorial Day is so important. Doing so is a small price to honor those who've paid a much higher price.
– Mike Walker, founder of the Walker Agency, CDR. USNR-Ret

Their Sacrifices
The men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces hold a special place in our hearts. We know that we, and the people of many nations around the world, enjoy freedom because of their sacrifices and the sacrifices of those who came before them.

We offer a prayer for these brave men and women before each day of competition on the FLW Tour, and this Memorial Day, we encourage everyone to remember those who've fallen and those who continue to serve in harm's way. God bless you.
– Charlie Evans, president and CEO of FLW Outdoors

Honor Families Too
The Warriors on the Water event, which we just put on, tells you what Memorial Day is all about. These young men and women coming back – the people here got to fish with them for a day, and hear their side of the story. They come away with a new perspective on the servicemen and women fighting for us. Many said they never realized what the folks are really going through over there. These young men and women are laying their lives on the line for us every day.

And for the men and women who've made the ultimate sacrifice, my heart goes out to their families. A lot of us forget about the loved ones left behind. My father was killed in Vietnam when I was 10 years old, so I know about that from a personal standpoint. It's something that never goes away. There may be a certain holiday for a family, or something that comes up, where the people in that family especially miss their loved one.

So I hope we always remember not only the men and women who died. Let's remember too the wives and children and mothers and daughters that miss them greatly for every day of the rest of their lives.
– Hal Abshire, co-founder of the Warriors on the Water tournament, USAF–Ret

Saying Thanks
This Memorial Day, we at BASS would like to thank the U.S. troops for their efforts, as well as honor those who've defended and supported our country in the past.
– Tom Ricks, VP and GM of BASS

An Irony
We buried a grandfather, Robert Reif, last Monday, with military honors. He was an artillery sighter in Korea. There was a VFW service at the viewing, Taps and a flag presentation at the funeral. An accordion player sang a song that, 50 years ago, hummed over a loudspeaker on the train platform as he said goodbye to grandmother Ruth.

One of the great ironies I wrestle with is that veterans so often spend their lifetimes trying to forget, because so many were left behind, while we so often spend our lifetimes trying to find ways to remember.

I've eventually come to believe that to remember, and to know, is somehow enough. To know that the world has always been, and remains today, in peril. And to teach my children that, if not for the sacrifice and valor of so few people, we would surely be living today in a second darkness.

In memoriam, I offer that remembrance, and say that the deeds of the many, and the few, will not be forgotten.
– Jon Storm, editor-in-chief of BassFan

The Hard Truth
Memorial Day represents the hard truth of what American ideals are, what we stand for, and the endless blood-red line of sacrifice that stretches from Lexington to Baghdad. Our freedoms paid for by men and women known and unknown to us. Certainly we can all take a moment or two this Monday to honor our fallen, reflect on what we ask our military to do in order to preserve our way of life, and thank God there are warriors who go into the field knowing that fewer will return than went.

For most of us these sacrifices seem opaque – distant in a way we can't understand because we've never been there. We haven't seen the terrible stuff – the shattered brothers and sons, the sounds and the smells. The horrible stillness just after a soldier yells "incoming" with what will be his last breath. The Tin Can sailor who keeps his gun tub trained on the Kamikaze even when it becomes obvious that the fireball is only seconds away. The B-24 crew that knows the raid is a suicide mission, yet still goes. The Marine who gets it because some insurgent has access to a shovel, a cell phone, a few leftover Iraqi 155mm shells and a perverted sense of what his God desires him to do.

That's what Memorial Day is. Our chance to thank the people whom we can no longer thank in person. The chance to let the families know that what their loved ones did means something to the rest of us that did not.

While we're at it, let's also give thanks to the men and women that are in harm's way right now – as usual, it seems, in some distant place far removed from us. Today, America's troops go to war while America goes to the mall. There's a certain injustice to that.

But we can do our part to fix it, one thank-you at a time.
– Scot Laney, COO of BassFan, owner of Lucky Forward Films, which recently completed production of the feature-length documentary This Is War – Memories of Iraq

Photo: NCHA

They do what they do so we all have the freedom to do what we do. I live in the community with these men and women, and I know I can't say enough, or do enough, to ever replace what they give, or what those who never returned have given.

And I think what everybody needs to realize is that a soldier's greatest fear is to come back from the things they do and find out that we don't support them at home. They're not scared about what they're doing, or who they go up against.

So from the bottom of my heart, I can never thank them enough. Stay safe, and God we love them."
– Marty Stone, professional angler, Warriors on the Water participant

Leaving Friends Behind
I've worked with so many people over there, and I was honored to work with a number of the helicopter crews that did go down in Iraq. I can't say enough about the men and women I served with over there.

It's so hard to put into words. To be touched by their service, but then lose them, is probably the hardest thing I've ever been through in my life – leaving my friends over there.

I served with so many crewmembers and so many other people involved with bass fishing, and I know they read BassFan. Every day we'd go on BassFan, read the Feedback, read the stories, and a lot of people over there will be touched to read this story.

My message to them is: Your dream is still here, and I'll leave some fish for you. I'll try not to catch them all. You'll be back on the water before you know it.
– Melinda Mize, FLW Tour co-angler, active Arkansas Army National Guard, on 60-day leave

When You Realize
The main thing for me is that I almost feel embarrassed that I get to do what I do while there are people over there. They're at war so we can do this, or just something as simple as drive up and down the highway. That really means a lot to me.

If any of them need to go fishing, I have a place they can go. I'll take them.

I never served. It was one of those deals. I thought about it, but honestly, I didn't know if I could do it or not. I didn't know if I was strong enough. And I think when you get older, you finally realize what the military does for us. They protect our country here, and overseas. It wasn't until I was older that I realized it fully – that I got to go fishing every day because of them."
– Greg Hackney, professional angler

Stop and Realize
I've lived through four wars now, and Memorial Day is a special day to me for a lot of reasons. It's a very important day in the history of America, when we do celebrate and honor those who've lost their lives, or have lost family members, in defense of this country.

We have liberty, and we must always remember we have to defend it, because there are people who don't like it – who have a contrary attitude toward our country.

So it's a day for me and my family to go to cemeteries around our home and honor those who have given of themselves and their lives for this freedom we take for granted.

You don't realize what you've got until you lose it. We have to stop and realize that a lot goes into having this life, and trying to protect the freedom that we take for granted."
– Ray Scott, founder of BASS

Bad Days, Good Days
My son Dave just retired from the Navy in November. He had 20 years in, and has been overseas several times.

I'm sure you've heard it 100 times, but we couldn't be doing what we're doing if not for the military. I know when you're out fishing, and not catching anything, it seems like you're having a bad day. But when you think about what they're doing, you realize you're having a pretty good day.

It puts it all in perspective. They're out there putting their lives on the line every minute, and it helps you realize things aren't as tough as you think they are. I just offer my support to them all and thank them 100 times over."
– Woo Daves, professional angler

In the Family
The Memorial Day weekend gives a lot of us an extra day off from work to go fishing. However, we would be remiss if we didn't take at least a moment to remember that many of our fellow Americans paid the ultimate price for us to enjoy the freedoms we as Americans hold dear.

As I reflect on my life, I look fondly back as a young boy in northern Minnesota loving and learning how to fish with my dad, a veteran, and my Uncle Bill, who'd been awarded the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts in World War II. They'd tell me stories of my other Uncle who died in the opening hours of D-Day, parachuting into Normandy with the 82nd Airborne. These stories were told while never talking about their own personal sacrifice. This had a profound impact on my life and still does today.

While I was serving my country in the Army, my Uncle Bill would share a glimpse of his service while we fished together in Canada. He died a few years later, but to this day, I fondly honor him through my love of this country and my love for fishing.

Today, I'm honored to have served my country and I'm blessed to work in the fishing industry. Please take a moment this weekend and catch a fish for our fellow Americans who've sacrificed, or are currently sacrificing for us, so we can enjoy the sport we love.
– Nathan Hanson, executive VP of global marketing for Pure Fishing, U.S. Army–Ret

Photo: NCHA

We wouldn't be able to do what we do without those men and women. I say that as an angler, but I mean everybody in this country wouldn't be able to do what they do if we didn't have the Armed Forces fighting for our rights, our country, and our freedom.

Not only do I thank them, but I think everybody in this country should thank them.
– Scott Martin, professional angler, member of the National Guard fishing team

The Debt
Fishing's probably one of those fringe occupations where a lot of countries wouldn't have room for the sport. To be able to do that in this country, we truly owe a tremendous debt to everyone in the Armed Services – those who served before, as well those serving now in a time when the enemy is maybe even more difficult. I'm very, very grateful, and I certainly have a tremendous amount of respect for them. I wish I had time to take every one of them fishing who loves to fish.

My father served. He was a Navy Seabee and passed away when I was 4. I've got a good friend who's an Army Ranger, and those dudes are as tough as it gets. I know some of the missions he's been on, and how tough it is over there. He tells me everything they're doing over there is very worthwhile, and that's good enough for me."
– Denny Brauer, professional angler

Get it Done
The family and staff of Bass Cat Boats extends their deepest appreciation to those who participate daily in preserving our freedoms. On this Memorial Day, we should all stop and give our prayers and thoughts for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. We'd also like to recognize our own internal staff member Ed Kendall SSG, now serving in Iraq. Get the job done and get home safe to all!
– Rick Pierce, president of Bass Cat Boats

Personal Sacrifice
As we observe this Memorial Day, I'd like to honor all the men and women who are currently serving, and who have served, in the U.S. Military. You're the reason Americans enjoy the highest standard of living in the history of mankind. You've made it all possible through your tremendous sacrifice. There's no greater gift than the gift of life, and that's what you have given us. You are the true heroes of this land.

The most honorable achievement a person can accomplish is to sacrifice their own life to make someone else's life better. That's what God did for us through Jesus, and that's what you have done for us.

I honor you, I salute you, and I deeply appreciate your gift to me. Thank you. I pledge to always remember your sacrifice, and to always do my part to make America an even better place, ensuring that your sacrifice was not in vain.
– Jay Yelas, professional angler

Special Honor
Strike King would like to say a huge and heartfelt thanks to all who are serving and have served in our Armed Forces, and we reserve a special honor for all those who never returned.

We're truly thankful for each and every defender. We appreciate them beyond belief for helping to keep our country safe and free. Our thoughts and prayers go out to each and every family that has suffered a loss, or has a loved one serving overseas. May God bless them, keep them safe, and bring them home soon.
Chris Brown, marketing manager for Strike King

It Means More
I'm sitting here at my desk right now, looking around at my Angler of the Year trophy from BASS, and the Fishermen's Bass circuit, trophies from FLW wins, the Bryan Kerchal Memorial trophy, all my trophies I've ever achieved in bass fishing, and I look across my desk and there's a little shadow box. Inside there's an American flag sent to me by a soldier who flew the flag in Iraq on a combat mission.

He met me in a bass tournament and sent it to me. All of the things in my office that I've achieved aren't a tint to what he sent me. Of all the things I boast the most pride in, it's that shadow box with that flag."
– Gerald Swindle, professional angler

Do you have a Memorial Day message you'd like to share? If so, click here to tell us about it.