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Big Spring Shooting Club Gives Back To Wounded Veteran
Big Spring Shooting Club Gives Back To Wounded Veteran 3/9/13
CBS 7 News Reporter
March 9, 2013
mrist@cbs7.com
BIG SPRING-Just outside of Big Spring, The Western Sportsman Club made a very special presentation to a wounded veteran.
Sergeant Mike Meinen lost his leg in his first tour in Iraq--just six months into the war.
"I recovered really quickly actually, I walked the first day I had a prosthesis,” Meinen, a retired E-5 Sgt. in the U.S. Army said. “After that I was back in the mountains hunting and fishing. I rehabbed in the wilderness more or less. I didn't do a whole lot in the physical therapy room."
It’s been a decade, but like many veterans he's still struggling to get back to the status quo.
"Re-acclimating into the civilian life is the biggest challenge,” said Meinen. “I still struggle with things like that--you know--but it gets better with time."
On his road to recovery comes a gift--an antique M1 Garand Rifle given by The Western Sportsman Club of big spring. It’s made possible by the “M1 for Vets Project”.
Today he got a chance to shoot it for the first time.
"It's fun, it gets me back to my roots," Meinen said.
Shooting is an opportunity for veterans like Meinen to do something they are good at in a safe environment.
For shooting club member and veteran Darrell Butt, friendly shooting matches like the one today are a chance to help vets heal.
“It's the camaraderie you felt in the military, all over again you know but with a new family basically,” Butt said.
The shooting club meets for friendly competition about once a month.