Posted on 11/08/2006
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Thank you to our Veterans. “In answering history's call with honor, decency, and resolve, our veterans have shown the power of liberty and earned the respect and admiration of a grateful Nation. All of America's veterans have placed our Nation's security before their own lives, creating a debt that we can never fully repay. Our veterans represent the best of America, and they deserve the best America can give them.” The above quote, taken from a recent Presidential proclamation for Veterans’ Day, serves as a reminder of the sacrifices that our Veterans have endured and the debt of gratitude we as a country owe them. We at UKC want to take a moment to thank those among us; customers, employees and event representatives, who have served our country as members of our armed forces. To commemorate Veterans’ Day, we are posting the following articles as they originally appeared in the September, 2006 issue of Coonhound Bloodlines. We appreciate Donald Petrash, Tony Beals and Dale Sandell, US servicemen and UKC customers, for writing these articles and giving us a peek into the life of a soldier. May we never forget the sacrifices our Veterans have made. Through the Eyes of a Soldier My Life as a Soldier and Coon Hunter by Donald Petrash My start in coon hunting began one night while on a camping trip with my father. Every Labor Day, he and I would go camping on Texas Type II hunting land near Cleveland, Texas. We were camping near a creek and this nice man in a red Jeep Scrambler drove up. He had this box and some dogs in it. We chatted for a while about his dogs and what he was doing, coon hunting. He turned the dogs loose down the road on a creek. I listened to those hounds that night and it was awesome. I got to looking in the paper for a coonhound and found some Bluetick puppies for sale. This was in 1986. I went and bought one of those pups. When we registered her, I got a subscription for COONHOUND BLOODLINES and have been receiving it ever since. I found a club nearby and ran into that man again at one of the hunts. He remembered us and introduced himself. Herman Husband was his name. From that time on, Mr. Husband taught me pretty much all there was about coon hunting. I owe the fact that I am still coon hunting to him, and I always compare the hounds I have today to the ones I followed with him many a nights, such as his Trapper dog, Lucy Lou, Trapper II and Cry Baby, just to name a few. We hunted many a nights and he had some fine Walker dogs. To this day, his female Lucy Lou was about the best dog I have ever been to the woods with. I hunted with him for many years and then just like most teenage boys, you get to high school and discover other hobbies, such as hanging out with friends. I stopped hunting for a bit. (By this time, I had a nice male pup from Mr. Husband who was doing well, but he was stolen one day while we were gone.) I graduated high school and joined the Army at age 18 and have been in the Army ever since. I didn’t get to hunt while in the Regular Army because I was in a Ranger Battalion and we were deployed a lot and always training. After my four years (1999), I got out for about 9 months and got back in to the Texas Army National Guard as an Active Guard/Reserve soldier. Basically, I was an Active Duty soldier for the state, which I am still to this day. When I returned home from Texas, I got back into hunting. This time, I was in Humble, Texas. After about two years, I was transferred to Austin, where I am currently. I met some folks in the Bastrop, Texas area who have turned out to be some of the best hunting partners a man could ask for. I have learned lots and have had lots of fun with the likes of men such as John Davenport, Josh Wilson and David King, to mention a few. John Davenport had one of the finest Walker dogs, actually one of the finest coon dogs, I had ever been to the woods with, Dual Grand Glory. She and Mr. Husband’s Lucy Lou are my top two hounds ever. At 12 years old, I put her final win on her at a Mini-Slam. She died within the next year (while I was deployed). Before I left, John gave me her win slip from that hunt and I carried it with me in Iraq every day for good luck! In 2004, I was mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom III and spent a year in Iraq, from January 2005 to December 2005. Our primary mission was Personnel Security Detail (PSD) for any high profile visitors who came into the country, everyone from four star generals to Donald Rumsfeld. I got to see just about every city and camp in the country. I also did convoy security and regular patrols. Being in Iraq was a wonderful experience. I learned a lot about the people, the culture and the history of such a controversial country. We did our mission to the highest standard and did lots of good for the people of that country. I have hunted Blueticks most of my life, except when I hunted with Mr. Husband. Everyone around here who I hunt with has Walker dogs and I constantly get a ribbing about these Blue dogs. It doesn’t matter, my current hound can do just as well, can put it to them or look just as bad as their Dual Grands on any given night! Right now, I am hunting a real nice twoyear- old male dog I bought from Lee Smith. His name is ‘PR’ Greens Creek Runnin Rebel. He is out of Lee’s Dual Grand Bullet II and Thomas Oklahoma Kate. Bullet II is an awesome dog; smart, fast and what a mouth! He easily ranks up there in my top three hounds I have ever been to the woods with. I have been to the woods with a few others out of Bullet II, and they are topnotch hounds. His Blazin Rocket dog is a real nice coon dog with a beautiful mouth. And Lee is the most honest person I have ever dealt with in dogs. He is the type of person who could describe a dog to you and you could buy that dog on his word. His family has been very nice to me and my family on my trips up to Oklahoma to hunt or buy a pup. Rebel has a 1st place win and if I would actually go to some competition hunts, he would easily be a Nite Champion by now. Being in the Army sometimes gets in the way of coon hunting, and I have to miss a few weekends and don’t get to attend some hunts. My good friend and hunting buddy Josh Wilson fills in for me as handler when he can if I am gone, but we seem to have the same luck at the hunts! My favorite hunting partner is my 8-year-old son, Walker. Yep, got a boy named Walker and I hunt Blue dogs! He goes just about every time I do, except on school nights. I have been taking him to the Texas State Youth Hunt the past few years and he loves it. He is actually getting pretty good at calling the dogs. Hopefully I can keep him interested in it. We all know these youth are the future of this sport. As far as coon hunting and the Army goes, I believe being in the Army has given me many attributes I can put towards the sport. The number one thing that crosses over is discipline. The discipline I have had instilled in me makes me a better dog owner in general. No matter if I am tired, hungry, cold, wet or how late it may be, I make sure my dogs get hunted and are fed properly. Their kennels are cleaned everyday and have fresh water. Also, being in the Army and my knowledge of land navigation and long terms of being in the woods allows me to be very comfortable and confident in the woods by myself. I don’t have to rely on the GPS, so when the batteries go dead I am lost. Can’t go wrong with a compass! Physical fitness is key in the military, and being physically fit helps me get through the woods and to my dog who is treed. These big ranches we hunt on here in south central Texas typically do not have many roads, and when the dogs tree, you have to walk to them. If they are in there deep and it is hot like it is now, being able to get to them in a timely manner is key so they don’t overheat on the tree. I am hoping I continue to have an enjoyable career in the Army, as well as continue to have the good times coon hunting like I do now. Having good times with family and friends is what this sport is all about! Donald Petrash A Soldier's Tribute by Master Sergeant Tony Beals, United States Army Reserve I’ve been coon hunting for over 40 years and in the military, both active duty and National Guard or reserves, for over 26 years. I’ve done three peace keeping deployments, two while on active duty. One was to Bosnia and the other an embassy evacuation in Liberia, Africa. The third was to Kosovo while with a National Guard unit. For the last three years, I’ve been activated with the reserves working as a trainer, instructor and Logistics NCO for a training support brigade working in central Indiana. I’ve been coon hunting since I was 8 years old. I started competition hunting after coming off active duty in 1984 when I bought a Plott Hound named Timex. Timex was just a good country coonhound who let me enjoy competition hunting. I served as a Master of Hounds while belonging to the Maple Rapids Coon Club. The highlight of my coon hunting experience came when Todd Kellam and Steve Fielder asked me to take them on a float hunt for coon. They did a small article on Timex and my style of hunting for the December 1990 COONHOUND BLOODLINES. I belong to the National Plott Hound Association. For the last three and a half years, I’ve hunted very little due to working for the military and have missed it a lot. Enough about me. The real reason I decided to write is my wife of five years, Sergeant First Class Stephanie Beals, who works full-time in the Michigan Army National Guard. The first time I asked her out, I asked her what she wanted to do. She said she wanted to do what I liked best, so we went coon hunting on our first date. We took a break from each other for a while when I went back on active duty but finally got married in the summer of 2001. My wife loves dogs and I have never gone through so much straw or had my dogs pampered like my wife does. It took her a while to get used to me going out hunting at night, always asking me what time I would be back. Every time I would tell her a time, I would show up about an hour later and get scolded for not coming home on time. After a year of this, she finally figured out I’d be home by daylight. My wife is currently being deployed to Iraq and is going through her three months of training to prepare for deployment. Over the last few months, it has been difficult because I’ve been working in central Indiana with my unit at the mobilization station here and she has been working 12 or 14 hours at her job with the Guard to prepare her unit for deployment. The husband in me feels slighted because it should be me going over and the two of us have talked about it. The soldier in me knows it’s part of the job, but it doesn’t make it easier. She is an Administrative Sergeant in a medical unit. She works hard and has put in many hours to prepare her unit. I know I probably have not told her how proud I am of her. Sometimes the words just don’t come out the way they should, but I am. To me, this is more for her than recognition for me. I love my wife dearly and wish her a safe journey there and back. On behalf of myself and all the soldiers, we appreciate the recognition UKC and all other organizations have made. To all the people who have come up to me and other soldiers and thanked us for our service, I thank you. And to the people who have paid for my meals and the lady I only saw for a second who the waitress said paid for my breakfast without even letting me thank her, I thank you. Finally, to my wife, Sergeant First Class Stephanie Beals, I love you dearly and I salute you. May God bless all our troops and the United States of America. Love, Tony A Father's Pride by Dale Sandel My name is Dale Sandell and I have three wonderful children, a daughter, Carrie, 25, and two sons, Chad, 22, and Cale, 20, both of whom are serving in the United States Army. Chad is a bridge builder stationed in Hanow, Germany. Cale is a generator mechanic in Fort Hood, Texas. Cale has never been into hunting, but our connection has always been, and still is, basketball. Chad has always been a hunter, rabbit, pheasant, coyote, deer, and you got it, coon. When he was in high school, he read Where the Red Fern Grows about 20 times and started “hounding” me about getting a dog. I helped him get a Walker puppy, who he named Lars. We both fell in love with coon hunting and Lars. We hunted all the time together, but the real friendship was between Chad and his dog. <<picture>> Chad Sandell, 22, shows off a few Walkers, Buddy (left) and Lars (right). They went everywhere together. Lars was a house dog for the start, and they always slept together. He became a decent coon dog, nothing to brag about, but he always hunted hardest when he was with Chad. This last January, when Chad decided to follow his younger brother into the Army, I immediately said Lars could come home and live with me and my wife, Pam. I have two other coon dogs, but Chad did not need to worry about who was going to take care of his buddy. I made Lars a Show Champion several years ago, but now that he lives with me, he has hit the bench again. I have found that hunting or showing Lars keeps me close to my son, who is far away. We qualified for the Lee Crawford Bench Show this year, and I, along with some buddies, headed off to Greencastle, Indiana. We didn’t win, but winning is not what it’s about. I am determined to finish Lars out on the bench. I’m very proud of both my sons, and this is one way I do something back for one of them. I love and miss both of my sons very much. P.S. Hey Chad, I see three stars in a row… This flag was flown at Fire Station 1 on the Q-West Base Complex in Al Quayyarah, Iraq on January 23, 2006 and by the 557th Expeditionary Red Horse Squadron in Mosul, Iraq on February 10, 2006. “I had this flag flown at two of the bases I worked. Thank you for all the support you’ve shown for all the troops. Take care, Chad Farrell.” This flag was also sent by Chad Farrell from the Airmen and NCOs of the 376 Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, Structures Shop. It was flown over their compound at Manas Air Base in Kyrgyz Republic during Operation Enduring Freedom, in support of combat operations in Afghanistan. This flag, sent by Chad Carpenter, was flown over Iraq by the aircrew of aircraft M6 during a combat mission on June 13, 2006. This flag, which symbolized the sovereign power of the United States of America and the unshakable resolve to keep our country safe, represents all men and women working in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.