Healing America’s Heroes participants learn to fly fish. Courtesy photo

COMMUNITY News:

“Bonding and working with horses and learning how to tie flies and fish teaches patience and kindness that serves veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),” said Healing America’s Heroes Founder Eddie Crain, who is also a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam. “These recreational activities quiet the mind so veterans can lead more productive lives when they leave here.”

Crain started Healing America’s Heroes (HAH) to share his love of horses and fly fishing with other veterans while they’re immersed in nature during five-day therapeutic retreats in Chama, New Mexico. Participants develop problem-solving skills, interpersonal skills, leisure skills, and self confidence.

“Veterans helping veterans” is HAH’s motto, and of the 22 men and 26 women the program has served, many of those graduates have returned to volunteer with HAH. Other vets have donated the land, horses, and equipment for the program.

On Sep. 7, HAH will be the recipient of a fundraiser documentary screening at Reel Deal Theater. Bringing together the veteran’s communities and outdoor aficionados, the film “Blood Road” follows the journey of ultra-endurance athlete Rebecca Rusch and her Vietnamese riding partner, Huyen Nguyen, as they pedal 1,200 miles along the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail. Their goal: to reach the crash site and final resting place of Rusch’s father, a U.S. Air Force pilot shot down over Laos some 40 years earlier.

Tickets are available now at Reel Deal and on the day of the event. Ed McDaris, known as Sgt. Mac, President of the Legion Riders, will introduce Crain, who will talk a few minutes about HAH before the show. Bathtub Row Brewing will be selling beer and wine.

The event is 7 p.m., Sept. 7 at the Reedl Deal Theater. Tickets are $10.