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20081022
Wheelchair Hunt
Lance Cpl. Daniel A. Blatter
Staff Writer
According to the Sportsman’s Global Positioning System, Tuesday, Oct. 28 was
the best day of the week to hunt for the elusive whitetail deer.
Luckily, on the 28th, more than a dozen hunters hit the blinds to
try their luck on a South Carolina hunt. These hunters were veterans,
servicemen, youths, sportsmen and more than a few Marines.
Safari Club International Lowcountry Chapter’s 4th Annual Wheelchair Hunt
offered wounded outdoorsman the chance to get back in the hunt. This hunt gave
injured servicemen a chance to do what they love.
“This type of event also gives these men a chance to relax during their
recovery process,” said Staff Sgt. Jared Dugger, a platoon sergeant for the
Wounded Warrior Battalion East. “This is one of the better, more organized
hunts.”
Among these hunters was Marine Sgt. Zack Golfos, a Wounded Warrior who has
been out of the hunt for the past four years. Golfos was an avid outdoorsman who
loved to fish and hunt; however, he hasn’t had the time or the ability to since
he joined the Marines.
“I love being in the outdoors,” said Golfos, the 23-year-old sportsman,
originally from Fairhope, Ala., who killed his first deer when he was eight
years old. “Even if I don’t kill anything, I still like being out there.
“Once I found out about this hunt, I signed right up,” he added. “I
scheduled my doctor appointments around it and started to get prepared. I was
excited, I haven’t been able to go hunting since I joined the Marine Corp.”
In Sept. of 2004, Golfos committed himself to the Corps and became part of
Platoon 1109, Bravo Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion on Parris Island. He
wasn’t expecting the Marine Corps to keep him from hunting. However, for the
past four years, he has been looking for the chance to hit the woods again.
After attending Marine Combat Training and his Military Occupation Specialty
school of amphibious assault at Camp Pendleton, Calif., he was assigned to the
2nd Amphibious Assault Battalion at his first duty station, Marine Corps Base
Camp Lejeune, N.C. On March 6, 2006, he deployed with 3rd Platoon Delta Company
to Fallujah, Iraq, where his initial injury occurred.
On June 26, 2006, Golfos was traveling in a High Mobility, Multi-Purpose
Wheeled Vehicle when it ran over an Improvised Explosive Devise. Golfos and
another passenger were knocked unconscious and suffered grade-3 concussions. He
later received three more concussions from IEDs.
He finished up his deployment as though nothing had happened. When returning
to the states in October 2006, he was again located at Camp Lejeune, only this
time with Headquarters Platoon.
On January of 2007, Golfos was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
and continuous headaches.
Then in October of 2007, Golfos was again deployed to Fallujah, only this
time with Delta Company, Headquarters Platoon as a driver for a Mine Resistant
Armor Plated Vehicle. On this deployment, the symptoms of his PTSD got worse. He
started experiencing severe migraine headaches.
On Christmas of 2007, Golfos left Fallujah to go to Lanstol, Germany where
he was treated for chronic PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Due to the injuries, he left Germany no longer able to drive a motorized
vehicle. This put a damper on his recreational hunts.
“Now if I wanted to go hunting, my wife, Kacie, has to take me to the woods,
drop me off and then come back and pick me up when I get done,” Golfos said.
“All he talks about all the time is hunting,” said Kacie Golfos, the wife of
Sgt. Golfos, “It’s talking hunting, watching hunting and going hunting. It was
good for him to get away for a few days and go hunting.”
On Jan. 1st, 2008. Golfos found his way back to Lejeune with the 2nd AA
Battalion, Headquarters and Service Company only to be separated soon after.
On July 10, 2008, Golfos was sent to the Wounded Warrior Battalion East
where he presently is awaiting medical retirement.
“Ever since I joined the Marine Corp, I have missed hunting season,” Golfos
said, “I just haven’t had the time or the area to hunt, and I know one day I
won’t be able to.”
Although Golfos has successfully taken two pigs in the past month, the 4th
Annual Wheelchair Hunt was his first chance to harvest a whitetail.
“When I got here, I didn’t know what to think. I was overwhelmed with all
the things planned and how big of a hunt this was,” he said.
While sitting in the stand for numerous hours, right at the edge of dusk, at
7:06 p.m. the wait paid off. A four-point buck walked out of the corn. It stood
out in the wheat 103-yards away presenting a broadside shot. Down it went.
Dropped, right in its tracks.
“Its better than sitting at a doctors appointment or any medication they can
give you,” Golfos said.
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