TEQUESTA, Fla. — A group of about 20 wounded veterans will be diving into the experience of a lifetime.
The Wounded Veterans Relief Fund is hosting their 8th annual Dive for Freedom, where veterans wounded in combat can free dive with sharks.
I spoke to organizers about their ongoing commitment to help veterans. They say there’s no one else they’d want to spend Independence Day with — after all, these veterans gave us so much already.
“Seeing those faces on the veterans when they meet us all, and we introduce each other and we go through where you're from, where you served and the pride that you see,” said John Rourke, one of the founders of this event and a veteran.
This gift is a “thank you” to those who gave us the freedom we’re celebrating today.
“That's really our driving force is to honor them, who sacrificed so much,” said Michael Durkee with the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund.
For nearly a decade, the organization has put this wild adventure together. For many, the dive is a way to relive some of the adrenaline they felt while serving.
“Veterans always long for adventure, right?,” said Durkee. “I mean, it's in our nature to long for that.”
It’s a moment not a lot of people can say they’ve experienced, and a feeling these wounded combat veterans are likely to hold on to forever.
It puts them face to face with their fears again.
“Some of them have a fear of water and we've had veterans, the first time going in the ocean before was with sharks, so think about that,” said Rourke. “You also think about, you know, their sacrifice overseas and the situations that they were in when they were injured and how scared they were then.”
The dive brings the thrill and adrenaline, but it’s the moments and connections that happen because of it that makes this event a success.
“When you're in the military, you have your battle buddy next to you that you depend on for your life, right? You call them family,” said Durkee. “When you leave the military, you don't have that family anymore, you're on your own. And this kind of like, again, brings our veterans together.”
From Tiki 52 in Tequesta, the veterans will travel out to Jupiter Inlet and free dive with the Shark Addicts Diving Team.
I asked the organizers why it’s important that they look after each other.
“Well, we get it,” said Durkee. “Veterans get each other. We understand each other. We understand what our needs are I think we can really plan around that to make sure that our veterans get everything that they need in order to feel comfortable, to feel secure.”
Aside from activities like this, the relief fund also helps veterans with housing to prevent homelessness, and they help with dental.
They say giving a veteran a new smile can help them with their confidence and getting back to normal life after combat.
This is another way they’re giving veterans a reason to smile.
