Photo By Andrea Sutherland | Ed and Beth Edmundson show soldiers photos from their son's latest hunting excursion...... read more read more
FORT CARSON, Colo. - Sitting in his wheelchair at the Soldier and Family Assistance Center at Fort Carson Sept. 14, Eric Edmundson scanned the room full of Soldiers mingling and eating lunch. When Staff Sgt. Geoffrey Rhone pulled out his phone to show the group pictures of his latest fishing excursion, Edmundson leaned in.
“He wants to see your pictures,” said Ed Edmundson, Eric’s father.
Rhone obliged, holding the phone for Eric to see.
Ed then showed Rhone and the other soldiers the pictures he took of his son’s latest catch — a nine-foot alligator in the swamps of Florida.
“Dang,” Rhone said, clapping Eric on the shoulder. “Do you need a sidekick?”
Rhone and other soldiers crowded around to see pictures of Eric with his “harvests” — a wild boar, a sika buck, an axis buck with 31-inch antlers and a 1,200-pound bison. Next on Eric’s list: elk, bear, antelope and white-tailed deer.
For the past month, Eric and his parents have traveled the United States with the Wounded Warrior Project on an unusual quest — to hunt and harvest big game animals in Florida, Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Colorado.
“Eric started developing this list of animals when he was a kid,” said Ed, squeezing his son’s shoulder.
Growing up, Eric hunted with a stick and pop gun. His father, Ed, taught his son all he knew about hunting and the two bonded over tracking ducks and geese in the woodlands near their home in New Bern, N.C.
After joining the Army in 1999, Eric's passion for shooting continued.
“He wanted to be a pro shooter for a company after the Army,” Ed said.
Those dreams came to a crushing end in 2005 when Eric, a sergeant with 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, then at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, was severely wounded when an improvised explosive device destroyed the Stryker vehicle he was driving.
He suffered a traumatic brain injury, fractured his T4 and T5 vertebrae as well as his tibia and fibula. His spleen ruptured. Two days after the accident, he had a heart attack.
“It took them 30 minutes to revive him,” said Ed.
Because his heart had stopped for so long, oxygen could not reach Eric’s brain, which led to an anoxic brain injury.
Eric lived, but his injuries confined him to a wheelchair and prevented him from being able to speak.
“Because of his injuries, we were told he would never go hunting again,” Ed said.
He said his son went through therapy at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
“Eric’s worked very hard to get his life back,” he said, adding that his son has been an avid outdoorsman his entire life.
When the Wounded Warrior Project learned of Eric’s passions, they organized and funded his “grand slam” adventure.
Ed said his son hunts in a customized ATV with a mounted rifle and a camera monitor scope. Eric uses a joystick to move the cross hairs, pressing a button when he’s lined his shot.
In addition to hunting North America’s largest game, Eric shares his story with local communities, his voice transmitted through a computer.
“When you are severely wounded, your life as you knew it has come to an end,” Eric said through a robotic computerized voice, addressing soldiers.
Eric delivered a message of hope and encouragement to soldiers struggling with physical and psychological injuries.
“It was pretty neat to see someone in his condition receiving the support,” said Cpl. Kenneth Petersen, Company K, 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
“When I get frustrated that I can’t open something, I’ll remember him and that it could have been worse,” said Sgt. Sonjamique Ferrell, Company K, 64th BSB.
Eric’s parents said their son has worked extremely hard to recover.
“It kind of gives [him] a purpose again,” said Beth, who travels the country with her husband and son. She said that Eric’s ability to hunt means the world to her. “He’s gone through so much,” she said.
In addition to his duties as a spokesman for the Wounded Warrior Project, Eric is a husband and a father of 6-year-old Gracie and 11-month-old Hunter.
“He has his life packed with purpose,” Ed said.
| Date Taken: | 09.14.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2011 16:00 |
| Story ID: | 77611 |
| Location: | FORT CARSON, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 203 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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