Scenic View Ranch helps wounded veteran fulfill his dream of hunting "Grand Slam"

by Sharon Sander-Palmer
Freelance Writer
 
It was a gorgeous, early autumn day late September in rural Allamakee County. Many of the maples had started to turn to brilliant reds and oranges, bursts of color among the green along the bluffs of Yellow River by Old Sixteen Road. An idyllic scene, and one far cry from the dusty, dry, barren environment of Iraq where so many of this nation's young men and women currently spend their days battling on behalf of its people.
But a battle was taking place somewhere in that Allamakee County scene described above - a battle between a skilled hunter and one Merino ram.  The ram lost!
The 300-pound Merino, shot at Scenic View Ranch under the guidance of owner Lloyd Johanningmeier, was hunt number five for medically retired Army Sergeant Eric Edmundson of New Bern, NC. The late September hunt was part of a three-month, eight-state, 10-animal “Grand Slam,” organized through the Wounded Warrior Project Believe in Heroes initiative.
So far, Eric has bagged a nine-foot alligator, a wild boar, and a Sika buck, all in Florida; an Axis buck in Texas; a bison in Missouri; and an elk in Colorado. Left on the list is a Pronghorn antelope in Montana, a black bear in southwest Idaho and a whitetail deer in Wyoming.
Eric Edmundson was born in Mason City and raised in Charles City. After graduating high school in 1999, he joined the U.S. Army, spending six weeks at boot camp before heading to Fort Knox in Louisville, KY. He then headed up to Fort Wainwright, Fairbanks, AK, where he was able to indulge in one of his many passions, that of hunting. While in Alaska he also met his wife, Stephanie, and became dad to Gracie. His plan once he retired from the Army was to become a professional hunter, however, Eric was deployed to Iraq in 2005, and Plan A turned into Plan B October 2, 2005.
“Eric was driving a STRYKER vehicle as the driver for the company’s commander,” his father, Ed Edmundson, explained. “His job was a Cavalry Scout doing reconnaissance, just like in the old western movies. He was the one out front. His unit, the 4/14 Cavalry, 172nd Stryker Brigade, was moving forward to support another vehicle, driving through a dry riverbed to avoid IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices) when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. Eric received a traumatic brain injury, fractured his fourth and fifth vertebrae, his right tubular and ruptured his spleen, as well as receiving shrapnel injuries. He was out of the field in 15 minutes.”
Eric was airlifted to Baghdad where he was stabilized before being taken to Balad - the location all wounded go before making their way to Germany and finally back to the United States. While in Balad, Eric suffered a heart attack causing more brain injuries during the 30 minutes spent reviving him.  Three days later, Eric arrived in Washington, D.C. at the Walter Reed Medical Center, where he was reunited with his family, including six-month-old Gracie and his wife, who quickly put all their belongings in storage in Alaska so they could be with him each day.
Eric was at Walter Reed for medical care for three and a half months. It was here that he became acquainted with the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). Made up of former military personnel and civilians, the WWP was established to provide tangible, practical support for wounded soldiers returning home from active duty. Programs such as Peer Mentoring, Combat Stress Recovery and Warriors to Work are all designed to help serve the long-term needs of wounded servicemen and women as they heal both physically and mentally, and transition back to civilian life. Additionally, the policy and government affairs program ensures injured warriors and their families have a voice in local and national advocacy and legislative issues.
After receiving his medical care, Eric went to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) before returning home in 2007. Through the love, support and commitment of his entire family, Eric has made tremendous progress and can now feed himself, stand and walk with assistance. “Much of the focus was on getting Eric ready for the outdoors again,” said Eric's father, the result of which is this epic journey to fulfill a lifelong dream of Eric’s.
During the three-month, 9,000-mile adventure, Eric is also doing outreach programs to raise awareness of the WWP and Believe in Heroes, an initiative that calls on Americans to recognize the enormous sacrifices made by the newest generation of veterans and to honor the service of these individuals over a two-month campaign leading up to Veterans Day.   The first outreach was in Albuquerque, NM where he gave a presentation on the WWP and “putting veterans back in to Veterans Day”, to more than 1000 people. Unable to speak, Eric uses a Dynavox communication device and an electronic board to present to the crowd which he works by punching certain folders on the screen.  It is this same device that he uses to communicate with his family and now six-year-old Gracie, being able to ask her to tidy her room or tell her that daddy loves her.
Integral to the journey is a most impressive camper which houses a bedroom, small bathroom, kitchen facilities and a bed for Eric. The back 10 feet accommodates his personal ATV which has been adapted by his father so his gun can be mounted up front and using a joystick and computer screen with a crosshair, Eric can shoot his target with a push of a button.
“We get calls from all over for hunts,” says Lloyd Johanningmeier of Scenic View Ranch, who donated Eric’s ram. “When WWP called me and asked if I would be willing to donate an animal, of course I said yes. I think it’s great to be able to help these people who lay their life down to keep us free. I am proud to be able to do this for Eric.”  Scenic View Ranch is one for four game ranches involved in the hunt and there are also four free-range hunts organized.
Taxidermists at each location donate their time, equipment and talents to mount the animals and tan the hides. The ram will be mounted by Jeff Morris and the hide tanned by Mike Morris, both of Big River Taxidermy, based in Lansing. “When we were contacted by the WWP, there was no question we’d do it,” says Morris, who says it will take about 20 hours to mount and tan the ram, which they hope to have done early in the New Year. Big River Taxidermy has also been involved with Hunt of a Lifetime, an organization helping children with disabilities.
Since 2007, Eric has been based in North Carolina with his family. Their home was built by “Homes for Our Troops” and is large enough to accommodate his parents, Ed and Beth, who both resigned from their jobs to be his main caregivers, as well as for their growing family (son, Hunter, was welcomed into the world 11 months ago). Eric, who is a Purple Heart recipient, continues to hunt with his father and works on outreach for the WWP.
Along with his parents, accompanying Eric on the trip is August Peters, Director of Productions with Trophy Quest (TQ), the producers of the television show “Beyond the Battlefield.” “ We received word from the Sportsman’s Foundation for Military Families (the ones who donated the alligator hunt in Florida) about this adventure and decided that it would be a positive thing for everyone if TQ followed Eric around on his hunting excursion,” said Peters.
Eric’s entire trip will be condensed down to four, 30-minute television shows, with one show airing per week on “Beyond the Battlefield” in early 2012. The episodes will air back to back so the viewer will be able to follow Eric’s adventure over the course of the hunts. “TQ has not worked with the WWP before, but we have developed a strong relationship and hope to do great things together in the future,” said Peters.
Peters also says that some of the best moments in his eyes have been seeing the emotions that other people have towards Eric and the support that everyone has shown. “Lloyd was one of the most caring individuals that I’ve come across,” he said. “His encounter with Eric meant so much to him and he really got that point across on camera.”
And of his experience?  “Personally, I have never worked so closely with a war veteran,” said Peters. “Just hearing all the obstacles that Eric has had to overcome gives me a newfound respect not only for him, but all veterans as well. I think that if you actually take the time to sit down and visit with the Edmundsons you would feel the same way.  And as this trip rolls on, it is apparent to me that I have become part of the family and I now have three new lifelong friends.”
While Eric’s life was forever, irrevocably changed on that dusty road in Iraq October 2, 2005, it was by no means the end. “Eric’s dreams for his life have not gone away. We have just had to modify how he can reach them,” said his dad.  “We think this is an important message for anyone who may be struggling with a severe injury or illness. We hope our story will inspire those folks to change their own philosophy from ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can and I will'.”
And while on their epic journey, they keep in touch with the family many times a day, and are looking forward to returning to North Carolina in early November. But until then, they are Westward bound and on the hunt.
For more information on Eric’s journey and the Wounded Warrior Project visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.