Beach week for wounded vets
- Now in its third year, Operation SEAs the Day brings 25 recovering wounded soldiers and their families to the beach for a week of fun, relaxation and a chance to reconnect.
- Businesses and beach home owners donate accommodations, food and more to recovering veterans and their families
BETHANY BEACH Jason Wakefield was just coming out from the shadows of post traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury when he and wife, Sarita, arrived at Bethany Beach last summer.
He was one of 25 wounded warriors and their families who came to the small resort community for a week-long vacation thanks to the nonprofit organization SEAs the Day.
This week, the couple from Ft. Worth, Texas, was back again to help a new group of wounded vets on the road to recovery.
“I’m enjoying life again,” Wakefield said.
The week at the beach was the first real vacation the Wakefields had in years. Wakefield, an Air Force veteran, did tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, where he saw friends die and he suffered a head injury.
Post traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries are the signature wounds from Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.
“It alters the way you think,” and healing takes time, he said.
So this week, Wakefield is helping others learn to have fun again.
“It’s healing,” said retired Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Blanck, who lives in Fenwick Island and serves on the Operation SEAs the Day board.
Often when the veterans arrive on the first day of their beach week, they aren’t sure they want to be in groups, he said. But over the next several days, they can participate in as much or as little as they want – from hitting the beach, to taking a boat ride, to therapeutic horseback riding, to golf, fishing or a trip to a spa.
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And their families are invited, too.
Area property owners donate their beach homes, and businesses provide everything from food to toilet paper and paper towels. Each of the 25 families has a host family that makes sure they get everything they need. Also on hand are couples like the Wakefields who have been through beach week before and are there if someone just wants to talk.
The program got its start over a bottle of wine. Becky Johns and Diane Pohanka wanted to do something to thank wounded war veterans. As they talked well into the night, they came up with a plan to offer these soldiers a week at the beach.
Then Pohanka, a flight attendant, was on a long flight to Madrid when she met Richard Katon. The Katons were traveling to Spain for a vacation. They struck up a conversation with Pohanka and they realized they had vacation homes in Bethany. Pohanka said: “Let me tell you about an idea my friend and I have.”
Katon was immediately interested.
They quickly realized there were a lot of vacant houses in the area once the peak season was over and after a few meetings, they realized “we’re really going to do this,” he said.
Their goal: bring 25 recovering wounded soldiers and their families to the beach for a week of fun, relaxation and a chance to reconnect. They reached out to the Wounded Warrior Project, the USO and the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes. Then they started pitching their plan to other beach homeowners, area businesses and civic groups.
By the late summer of 2013, they launched their first SEAs the Day beach week – a chance for the Bethany community to thank these families for their service and sacrifice.
Now in its third year, dozens of area businesses participate in the week-long event. On Wednesday night, Sea Colony hosted a picnic and one area business provided 100 pounds of shrimp. There were family portraits on the beach, music, gift bags and even a petting zoo that included a skunk named Flower and a baby red kangaroo named Rosie brought in by Barn Hill Preserve.
“You get a chance to grow,” said Oscar Gonzales, a veteran Army Ranger from Dover who came back this year to help other wounded vets. “This is our community.”
Last year, he said he came to beach week “blind, no expectations. It took me about two days to get into it,” he said. “We are here to help.”
Katon said he believes the program works because Bethany is really a small town, there is a strong military presence and “it’s just generous, kind people.”
Reach Molly Murray at 463-3334 ormmurray@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter@MollyMurraytnj.
