I already had my weekend planned out, a private tasting at a Thai BBQ restaurant in The Woodlands on Saturday evening, then a Sunday concert at Cynthia Woods, but I immediately dropped it all in favor of meeting a bunch of former Soldiers and Marines in Port Lavaca. I had been invited at the last minute, through a Wisecrack Warrior friend, Ed Holesovsky, who had contacted his friend Ron Kocian, who runs an independent Veterans group, ‘Warrior’s Weekend,’ which has been inviting Veterans from across the country, all who had been hurt in body or mind while in their service, to a weekend of prayer, fellowship, great meals, and fishing for 19 years now. Now I’m used to meeting with Veterans all the time, sometimes we laugh and cry; but this gathering threw me for a loop that humbled me. I thought I had suffered in dealing at first mentally following my war, then with a devastating cancer that I took to the limit, with years of recovery. And as it turns out … I never suffered at all.
What I saw was so heartwarming and wonderful. A gathering of Veterans, both male and female, each with a story, who participated in differing theaters of combat, and at different times. The oldest in their early 80’s, the youngest barely 30, all joined together in Service to Our Nation, with only one or two having been asked via a different route. We all mustered up at Prasek’s Family Smokehouse in Hillje on US Hwy 59 on Friday afternoon, with police escorts, motorcycle riders, private vehicles, and three buses full of Veterans and volunteers. It was mind-boggling at the respect that the Veterans received from the Sheriff’s Deputies and Police, which hailed from Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Wharton, Jackson, Victoria, and Calhoun Counties, as well as with local Police escorts all along the way. I met a 5th grade teacher and Principal from Louise ISD who quickened my heart, Lori Heard. She brought her class to wish off the Veterans on their trek to Port Lavaca and Port O’Connor. Then there were the Veteran supporters and civilians who lined the streets at all points along the route waving.
We met for a fish and shrimp dinner at the Bauer Community Center in Port Lavaca that night. It was incredible to see about 300 Veterans, a few with their spouses in attendance. Vietnam Veterans, next to Desert Storm, next to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, men and women united together in pain and suffering to a Great Nation, all had volunteered except for a Vietnam Veteran, who had to be gently nudged to join the Army in 1966. Friends met friends who had met previously at the event, while a few knew each other from the same units, or places they served at. Still others meet Veterans they served with stateside and overseas. I made a point to make the rounds, meeting Veterans from Puerto Rico, Hungary, and India. I met the few lady Veterans making a point to kiss their hands, a gesture they all thought special. Each of the Veterans had a different experience than the rest, all linked to the past, and each had earned their place in that Hall of Honor.
The fishing the next day at Port O’Connor was special for the Veterans, and the wet weather thankfully gave way to some hours free for the guys and gals to head into Matagorda Bay for catching whatever fish were available. The day could not happen without the Boat Captains that answer the call to ferry out the Veterans to the fishing areas, and it always seems that just enough boat owners are always available. Once the fishing, weighing, and awards determination was done, everyone took a break for dinner and the awards ceremony that evening. The BBQ dinner filled the plates of the Veterans to the hilt, with tons of brisket, sausage, the fixins and desserts at their beckon call, and again the volunteers were there to fill all of the Veterans needs.
For a few Veterans, the ones hurt permanently with paralysis, they were never formally ‘Welcomed Home.’ One Veteran that I greatly admired at the event was a Hungarian born (in Communism) female soldier by the name of Kinga, an M2 Browning (.50-caliber machine) gunner in the U.S. Army’s Motor Transport Corps. She worked a weapon soldiers lovingly called the ‘Ma Deuce,’ and for me, just cocking the dang thang was a chore, while to Kinga, being well over six-foot tall, a blonde goddess and a former archer, it was like opening a Coke can. She was paralyzed in Afghanistan when the Hummer she was in rolled over under fire. I appreciate women who have suffered and I am drawn to them like a moth to flame. They are the ‘real ones’ in our society. They don’t go around posting the latest pictures of their ‘fabulous’ lives at the latest gala, or weekend party with champagne flutes, on their social media. Kinga has suffered, I mean really suffered. Lying for months on end flat on her back after her injury. I can’t stand any pain in my back, but I suffered in different ways, but Jesus; Kinga endured incredible amounts of pain in her physical therapy. Her road to recovery was long, and for her to just sit confidently in a wheelchair in this day and age is a miracle. Today, she now works with a prestigious auditing firm.
When I first saw Kinga, the first thing I said to her was, “I see you.” I know that people confined to wheelchairs involuntarily in their prime of life often speak of not being seen, and I wanted her to know that I saw her and loved her as a fellow Veteran. I immediately bonded with her, since we both understood what hardcore socialism really means. She had rightly earned her American citizenship in her war zone. Bravo!!! On the second night, Kinga’s husband told her story about her injury and the nightmare of her slow recovery in a moving tribute, to which the entirety of those gathered at the community center stood and paid homage to her.
There were also Soldiers and Marines who had lost or partially lost limbs. One Special Forces soldier that spoke was John Wayne Walding, a Green Beret who in a battle of Shok Valley in April 2008, lost his right leg to a sniper. Since his return, John Wayne has raised a family, became a motivational speaker and started a business. He is a religious man and not afraid to show it, and his fisherman skills garnered the prize as the greatest fisherman for the gathering. His story of survival is amazing, and told in the book, ‘No Way Out: A Story of Valor in the Mountains of Afghanistan.’ Walding’s never give-up attitude had him hand cranking his way on prestigious marathons just a year later, and in time he was able to run an Army 10 Miler. There was also another female Afghanistan Veteran who had been thrown about multiple times in different incidents under enemy fire and IEDs. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, following intense scenes of course leaves terrible mental scares, and has differing effects on soldiers. One lady from Oregon was so traumatized by her experiences, she wouldn’t leave her residence for years on end. Years of therapy, and her service dog, Finley, helps comfort her, and is able to detect changes in her condition such as being able to predict things such as seizures, which is vital to preventing further injury. There were some service dogs brought by their Veterans, and the dogs are very disciplined in their tasks, being non-reactive to noise, food urges in public, and other people in close proximity. They are amazing animals and are well loved by their owners, and well respected by the Veterans for the service that they provide to their Masters.
The ‘Warrior’s Weekend,’ owes its 19 year history to Ron Kocian, a mover-and-shaker, who started the event to Honor Veterans for their service, after learning about another event on the other end of Matagorda Bay. Kocian, an Army National Guard paratrooper from the early 1970s. His first year, he sent a letter to Brooke Army Medical Center, and 55 Veterans came down, and Kocian will tell you he didn’t know what he was doing. After learning a lesson about alcohol, the event started growing from there, with its height having 19 buses of soldiers while Afghanistan was still an active Combat Zone. The numbers have been scaled back, but the effect on the Veterans is still the same, as they appreciate being appreciated by the organizers, volunteers, escorts, and the public.
The volunteers come every year at their expense to assist with setting up events and closing them down. Some volunteers, like 17 year volunteer David Pribyl and his wife Bettye, keep coming back every year. Jack Daniel (his real name) has been back for 16 years, while Lisa Smith, a Veteran from Fort Riley, Kansas, with a brother near Port Lavaca, just completed her first volunteer year with plans to make more trips. But obviously, without the volunteers at every level, the yearly event wouldn’t be able to pulled-off successfully each and every year.
One group that appreciates attending Warrior’s Weekend each year, are members of PTSD Foundation of America’s Camp Hope, located just inside the northwest portion of the Houston’s Sam Houston Tollway. Camp Hope sends Veterans who are still battling their demons from their combat service, and Thank God they are under the guidance of combat tested mentors and councilors who help them back from the brink of doing something terrible like taking their own life or continuing with drugs or alcohol. Following the awards ceremony, a special recognition of soldiers who lost their lives in battle, recognizes the soldiers and the Gold Star Families. This year, a special recognition was also held for a Veteran, a man who came home following his war, had a family, and even volunteered with Warrior’s Weekend, before he took his own life. And it’s sad that active duty Soldiers and Veterans still take their own lives, and we owe it to ourselves to be mindful of the signs of suicide, not only in the military related, but civilians as well. 
For Ron Kocian, his volunteers and sponsors, it’s a year-round effort for giving a few days of Honoring Veterans in October. 2026 will be Ron’s 20th year, a wonderful milestone, of love, heartbreak, and giving honor to men and women who served in zones of combat around The World to preserve America’s Freedom. I was glad to have seen and experienced Warrior’s Weekend, and it was a wonderful and enlightening diversion to my normal weekend. I needed the break, and I may not have written as much as I do for a normal weekly paper, but I will come back refreshed for next week.