Smith: Horicon Marsh hunt gives veterans a valuable experience beyond what they could hope

HORICON – The northern terminus of Chestnut Street in Horicon is technically a dead end.

But the term is misleading.

The intersection of pavement and Rock River is also a portal to the world-famous Horicon Marsh.

And for one weekend each fall for the last 15 years, the boat houses and adjacent yards at the end of the street have bustled with life during the Horicon Marsh Veterans Hunt.

The area is transformed into a living, breathing camp with a purpose: to honor military veterans for their service to our country.

Veterans are hosted by local volunteers for a free getaway of hunting, camaraderie and home-cooked meals.

Now in its 15th year, the event has blossomed into a premier veterans outdoors experience. The 85 spots filled in just minutes during registration earlier this year.

"It started with an idea," said Chuck Dodge of Mayville. "It really feels good to see it has grown to this level and so many vets want to take part."

The 2023 edition was held Oct. 20 to 22.

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The Horicon Marsh Veteran Hunt started in 2009

The Horicon Marsh Veteran Hunt is a nonprofit organization founded by Dodge and the late Ryan Voy of Horicon, friends who grew up hunting on the marsh.

The idea for the event was born on Memorial Day 2009. Dodge said he and Voy were camping on the marsh with their families, thinking about how much they have to be thankful for, wondering what they could contribute to veterans.

Dodge had just learned that his friend Kirk Morris of Gurnee, Illinois, lost his son in Iraq. Eighteen-year-old Geoffrey Morris had enlisted in the Marines and was killed in his first year of service.

But rather than just extend their condolences, Dodge and Voy decided to create an event to express their appreciation for military veterans.

Neither of the men served in the military but their fathers and grandfathers had.

They decided to turn to what they knew best: duck hunting and the marsh. With help of family and friends and the Horicon community, the event took root and has continued to grow.

Testimonals for the Horicon veterans hunt come from around the U.S.

I've been privileged to attend many of the annual gatherings, including hunts in the marsh with veterans, dinners around the campfire and sleeping on cots in the IAM 873 Union Lodge.

I was there in 2011 and hunted with Voy and Ryan Baudhuin, a Marine veteran who lives in Green Bay. A photo I took that morning of Baudhuin and Nova, Voy's chocolate Lab, became the logo for the event.

I also watched that year as first-time duck hunters Francisco Rodriguez and Jason Withrow, both Army veterans from Rockford, Illinois, joined local volunteers Damon Hesse of Deerfield and Todd Whittaker of Oconomowoc for a marsh skiing outing.

They had never even been skiing on snow but took to the long, wooden appendages like pros. The foursome returned later in the morning with 18 ducks, mostly drake mallards.

In 2019 U.S. Marine veteran Alfred Perez, 25, a native of Guam who had moved to Madison, also hunted for the first time. He was guided by Andy Johnson of Lomira, a member of the Horicon Marsh Veterans Hunt board of directors.

It was a match made only at the Horicon event. Johnson's father, Russell, was a U.S. Marine who landed on Guam in World War II.

Over the course of the morning Johnson passed along stories told to him by his father, who died in 2017 at age 91. Perez, who served in the Marines for four years, including one deployment in Afghanistan, told Johnson about life as a boy in Guam.

This year I also attended and reveled in the homecoming atmosphere.

Scholarship and quilt raffle were new for 2023 Horicon hunt

The 2023 event included a new feature: a $1,000 college scholarship to a child of a military veteran. Alanna Schuett, a student at Carroll University, won the inaugural contest. Her father, Timothy Schuett, of Beaver Dam served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1989 to 1993.

In her application essay, Alanna wrote she had learned from her father "the hard work and sacrifice that is made so we can continue to be a free country."

The volunteers at the Horicon Marsh Veterans Hunt continue to honor that sacrifice with their own hard work.

This year was true to form. The veterans began assembling Friday afternoon and were treated to dinner donated by Lottza Mottza Pizza and a bonfire. Saturday morning breakfast was served by volunteers and then the 85 vets were split between hunting outings on the marsh and fields.

The group reassembled for lunch and then went out for more hunting. Then a Saturday night dinner was served with food donated by Texas Roadhouse. Sunday was more hunting for anyone who wanted it.

Though Ryan Voy died in 2018, his widow, Kari, and sons Tanner and Hunter continue to serve with the event.

His father, Jerry Voy, of Horicon also stopped down to visit with the veterans on Saturday.

The event's positive impact is clear in testimonials from the veterans.

Matt Owens of Bismarck, Illinois, a retired Marine rifleman, said the Horicon veterans hunt has exceeded his expectations.

"This event has made me into someone I read about as a child, the guy who has a yearly hunting trip with his friends," Owens said. "This event has provided me the ability to enjoy time with old friends, make new friends, and extend my 'network.' This event has created lifelong memories and inside jokes few will understand. Most importantly, each year this event gives me a reason to reflect on my time in service and answers the question we all ask ourselves, ''Was it even worth it?' For the record, yes, yes it was."

Veterans hunt provides camaraderie and a mental reset

Retired veteran Ryan Lonergan of Forest Junction said the volunteers, guides and staff at the Horicon hunt are top notch and a "true testament of small town love and support."

"Hunting is how I reset my emotions and mental health," Lonergan said. "It allows me to access the same part of my brain I used while in the military. I love waking up earlier and getting gear prepped and moving to a duck blind. Looking at maps and weather. So many similar parallels. The humor and laughing at this event is worth more than any duck."

Lonergan's sense of humor was tested in Horicon when fellow vets presented him with a bottle of Crisco cooking oil. He acquired the nickname Crisco earlier this year in Maine when a fellow veteran forgot his name and started referring to him with the moniker seemingly plucked from thin air.

It stuck. His nametag for this year's Horicon Marsh Veterans Hunt read Ryan "Crisco" Lonergan.

It shouldn't surprise you that Lonergan has embraced the nickname and the associated verbal jousting.

"Veterans are so hard on each other but with a purpose," Lonergan said. "It's 99.9% designed to build morale and have fun. That’s it."

Juan Aguilar of Anchorage, Alaska, was the veteran who traveled farthest to attend this year's event.

Over his weekend in Wisconsin he was able to experience a hunt over water in the marsh as well as field hunts in the Horicon area.

"By far the best veteran event I have ever been a part of," Aguilar said. "Traveling from Alaska was hard for me, but once I arrived, everyone was so great. Being my first time attending this event, and I can honestly say that the board members, guides and volunteers went above and beyond to show their appreciation for veterans and I was honored to be apart of it this year. Thank you all again and I hope to make it again in the future."

Mike Vandervest, a veteran from West Bend and a multiple-time attendee of the Horicon Marsh Veterans Hunt, said the event has become a huge part of his life. Vandervest brings his boat to Horicon as well as donates pints of his homemade hot pepper relish to the raffle.

"This event pulled me out of a dark place," Vandervest said. "I did not know then just how much I needed this hunt, and to be back around other vets. (Now) my calendar is booked two days before and one after. I will not miss it. My boat might not bring in the most birds, and we might not be in the best spot in the marsh, but two things I can guarantee, you'll have fun, and your presence in my boat makes me extremely happy, and gives me a drive to keep tossing dekes."

Volunteers already planning for 2024 Horicon veterans hunt

The desire by the volunteers to give back to the veterans extends beyond the Horicon community. This year it was perhaps most visible in the form of five quilts made and donated by Jayne Herling and friends in Fountain Hills, Arizona.

Johnson said he received a phone call "out of the blue" from Herling asking if she could contribute.

"She used to live in Horicon and knew about the event," Johnson said. "And she wanted to know what she could do. It goes to show you how people of Horicon, even if they don't live here anymore, want to help."

The quilts were raffled off to five grateful veterans on Saturday.

Johnson and Dodge said they are already planning for next year and beyond. This year, with the addition of the scholarship, added an element from the other events. Five hunting trips were also given away.

They talked to the veterans this year and asked what else would be good to add.

"That's how this stuff starts," Johnson said. "You start talking and ask them what they want and then work to make it happen."

I'm confident the volunteers with the Horicon Marsh Veterans Hunt will continue to succeed in their mission to honor our military veterans and thank them for their service to our country.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Horicon Marsh hunt meets its mission of helping military veterans