FLORIDA TODAY
R. Norman Moody
May 12, 2014
Overland Veteran, a local organization that aims to help Iraq and Afghanistan veterans transition back to civilian life, hosted its first former service member for a fishing and hunting trip in Brevard County.
"The whole trip has been awesome," said Danny Ridgeway, a recipient of the Silver Star, the military's third highest award and the first guest of Overland Veteran. "I never imagined anything like this."
Ridgeway, 29, of Gadsden, Ala., was medically retired from the Marine Corps as a staff sergeant after suffering concussions from a series of explosions in Afghanistan left him with a traumatic brain injury.
Ridgeway said the experience of sharing with people who understand him has been invaluable. He said onefriend was killed in combat and two others lost their legs. The men with whom he spent the past few days have all had similar combat experiences, unlike non-military friends he has in Alabama.
"I don't have that many friends up there that can share that same experience," he said as he prepared to fish for shark south of Melbourne Beach. "I can't really connect with them any more."
The goal of Overland Veteran, founded by all young combat veterans who met in group therapy for PTSD, is to provide recreational excursions to combat veterans and their families. Hunting and fishing will be the main focus, but it will also provide diving, golfing, recreational shooting and other activities.
"We are wounded and we are all Purple Heart recipients," said retired Army Capt. Vincent Gioielli, president and one of three founding members of the Overland Veteran, all of whom are Brevard residents. "I saw that there was a glaring need."
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