Veterans share stories, experiences at St. Charles boating event

For Air Force veteran Priscila Vazquez, sharing stories and experiences with people who understand what she's going through makes all the difference.

In the two years that the 27-year-old Chicago resident has been out of the military, Vazquez has been working through some social anxiety that comes with adjusting to life back home, she said.

Events like Sunday's recreational boating clinic in St. Charles, she said, help to bring back a sense of camaraderie that she feels has been missing since coming home.

"I'm trying to be more involved with the veteran community," Vazquez said. "It helps to be around my brothers and sisters that have been in similar situations that I've been in - maybe worse, maybe better. It's very healing and very comforting."

Sponsored by the St. Charles Rowing Club and the St. Charles Canoe Club, the event allowed a handful of veterans and their supporters to learn how to row, canoe or kayak on the Fox River at Ferson Creek Park. Participating veteran organizations included Wounded Warrior Project and Team Red, White & Blue.

"We want to get veterans actively engaged in physical activity and build stronger bonds and relationships with civilians," said St. Charles resident Jack Erwin, 49, who is an area leader for Team RWB. "If you suffer from having been wounded or having (post-traumatic stress disorder), you can sometimes tend to isolate yourself. This helps you to be engaged in your community."

Dozens of volunteers participated at the event, including members of the Canoe Club, high schoolers in the Rowing Club, and rowing coaches and members from Marquette University, New Trier High School and the Milwaukee School of Engineering, said Carrie Halle, a parent volunteer for the Rowing Club.

Club coach Chris Meldrum held a similar event last year in Michigan, Halle said. Meldrum, who has family members who are veterans, decided to bring the event to the Fox Valley this year, she said.

"She is really interested in helping vets with their rehabilitation and has found that getting vets into boats is really good for their physical and mental well-being," Halle said.

Erwin, who served in the Army National Guard for 21 years and was deployed three times, said he knows firsthand how difficult it can be to adjust to civilian life.

In a 2008 combat tour in Afghanistan, he said, several soldiers in his battalion died or were wounded. Some, he added, died of suicide after returning home.

"That's a nationwide problem for all veterans of this and other wars," Erwin said. "That's why I feel so strongly about reaching out to our battle buddies to hold each other up - to be there for each other."

In the future, Halle said, organizers are expecting to host the event in St. Charles annually. Meldrum is also considering offering adaptive and paramilitary rowing classes on the side, she added.

"I'm really glad there are people that support veterans enough to go out of their way to volunteer their time and set up these events for us," Vazquez said.