By Michelle Armstrong
In the May issue, we ran an article explaining the concept of Top Shelf Fishing. If you missed it, in short they are an organization committed to giving disabled and wounded Veterans the real life experience of fishing a tournament. (And so much more)
The organization touches so many lives in so many ways. I wanted to share the impact this has from the veterans’ point of view so we’ll be highlighting several Veterans in the issues to come.
At the perfect time, Brian Ebert decided to contact Operation Northstate.
“I literally had a gun in my mouth. I was ready to be done”.
Brian heard about Operation Northstate from a fellow Marine named Gunny. In the most crucial moment of his life he called Terry Snyder at Operation Northstate and they talked for a long time. With an invitation to go fishing, he decided to hold on a little while longer.
“Operation North State literally saved my life”.
Like so many other Veterans, Brian had a difficult time outside of the military life. In fact, shortly after Corporal Ebert completed his time with the Marine Corp in 2004 he quickly realized this. In 2005 he felt his only remedy was to join the Army. In 2009, the physical and emotional injuries Brian incurred while serving the Marine Corp suddenly caught up with him. In 2010 Sargeant Ebert received a medical leave from the United States Army.
Once again Brain was faced with the same obstacles as before.
The back story…
Brian Ebert announced to his family that he planned to join the Army after high school. Unbenounced to him, his twin brother Chris announced that he was planning to join the Marine Corp. Until now, Brian and Chris had grown up competitively inseparable. Brian decided right away that if his brother could be a Marine, then so could he.
Four days after graduation. Both Brian and Chris joined the United States Marine Corp. By rare chance, they were placed in the same platoon, sharing the same barracks. In true form, Chris encouraged his brother to be his best. They were two of the four fastest runners in the entire battalion.
In 2004 they were both deployed to Iraq and for the first time in their life, they were separated. Though there was less than a mile between their camps, they did not get to see each other. Brian’s unit was the first to go into the streets of Fallujah. Within 30 minutes of entering the protesting streets, they experienced indirect mortar fire. This was only one of several close combat situations Brian would experience.
Brian also encountered two IED explosions. One being a daisy chain bomb, sending his vehicle airborne. The second, knocking his vehicle completely off of a bridge forcing the men to swim to shore before engaging in a twelve hour battle in the city of Al-Karmah.
From these incidents, Brian sustained several concussions and many life altering injuries. Though the worst for Brain was yet to come.
Brian’s mission in Iraq was complete and his unit was sent home on July 12. Chris’s unit was their replacement, and he was set to return home on September 23rd. They were looking forward to a reunion. On September 17th, six days away from coming home, on the same streets that his brother patrolled in the prior weeks, Corporal Chris Ebert was instantly killed in an explosion.
Not only was Brian suffering from PTSD, but now his emotions were crippled with the loss of his twin brother. He tried to minimize the pain and turned to alcohol. Unable to cope with the loss and his detachment from the military, He was ready to quit life.
That was then this is now…
Brain committed to fish the Lake Norman tournament with Operation Northstate. Upon his arrival he was pretty anxious.
“I had butterflies, and felt pretty closed off. I started looking around at all the other vets and thought, I can do this. If they can make it, so can I. I broke out of my shell and started talking. I had found a sanctuary in others”.
Once Brian relaxed he realized this was way more than he had expected. Upon meeting his host boater, he felt a camaraderie that he hadn’t planned for.
“The people at Operation Northstate treat all of the vets with the utmost respect. They don’t view us as broken people. They look to us as fellow human beings. This day was the best therapy I’ve had to date”.
Brian has missed few events since. He has now been paired with several different host boaters. Through this he has developed new relationships.
“Operation Northstate arranged the meeting of new people. It was up to me to make a connection. Through this, I have become much more comfortable around civilians. I have now developed friendships with these people outside of just fishing with them. The camaraderie that was established on the water was unexpected and life changing, and now I have friends that couldn’t have developed otherwise”.
Brian recognizes that it’s not just fishing.
“Every single experience with Operation Northstate has been highlight. This has become an outlet for me and so many Veterans. This experience has taught me that I’m not alone. It taught me to reach out to people for help and things have gotten better for me. I have learned to honor myself and honor others. The pain of losing my brother will never get easy, but it gets easier everyday. There has been no better therapy than getting outdoors and enjoying God’s creation…and catching a few fish”.
Today Brian talks to small groups, telling his story. He hopes that by sharing his story, other veterans would by encouraged to reach out for help.
“If my story saves one veteran or shows them that they are not alone, then it is all worthwhile”.