ANCHORAGE, Alaska — It began, oddly enough, fly fishing near Saddam Hussein’s palace in Iraq.
That’s where Staff Sgt. Michael Henrie of Elmendorf Air Force Base was stationed in late 2008. In stocked waters around the palace and in the Eurphrates River swam carp-like fish. Some troops managed to secure gear from donor stores in the U.S., and before long, Henrie was casting.
“We signed out some fishing poles and went fishing in the desert,” he said. “Fishing while you’re wearing a Kevlar vest and a helmet with Apache helicopters overhead is a unique and inspiring thing.”
Not long afterward, Henrie heard about Project Healing Waters, founded in 2005 by Navy captain Ed Nicholson while he was recovering at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. The program encourages mentally or physically injured veterans to tie flies and cast in nearby lakes and streams.
By March, Henrie was working on plans for the first Alaska chapter. In November, he talked to the national president.
“This is the fly-fishing capital of the world,” Henrie said. “I just wanted to hang out with the guys and have them tell me about their experiences. Before I hung the phone, I became the project director for Alaska.”
He quickly connected with Alaska Fly Fishers, who joined him in an effort to make the program happen here. At the time, it was just little more than an idea — no volunteers, no gear, no trips planned.
But by late May, flies were being tied in the physical therapy wing of the 3rd Medical Group Hospital. This summer, more than four dozen wounded soldiers have participated, nearly $25,000 has been raised and 130 volunteers have chipped in, Henrie said.
“A doctor and a physical therapist can do a lot with the physical healing,” he said. “But Project Healing Waters provides the emotional healing.”
With late fall blending into winter and ice creeping onto local lakes, most casting is done for the year. But Henrie and fishing guide Damon Blankenship of Alaska Fly Fishers are encouraged by the seven fishing trips they’ve organized this summer.
“At first,” Blankenship said, “I was worried about having enough people to come and help. But one day this summer, we had one person come to the clinic with six instructors on hand.
“We’ve got a unique state here. Between the streams locally, the Mat-Su, the Kenai Peninsula and the western Alaska rivers, the opportunities are absolutely phenomenal.”
Henrie has been a drummer in the U.S. Air Force Band of the Pacific since 2007 and performed with such stars as Toby Keith and Maureen McGovern. He owns an Air Force Commendation Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. But he’s particularly proud of his work with Project Healing Waters.
During winter, the focus shifts to bobbins, vises and fly-tying equipment. The group usually meets twice a month to make flies.
“Anybody who can walk and chew bubble gum can tie flies,” Blankenship said. “I’m a living example of that.”
And Henrie has made several new friends through the program, including a 72-year-old Vietnam veteran who’s now one of his closest fishing buddies.
“I was not prepared for some of the stories I would hear,” Henrie said. “I’ve never been shot at or had experiences like some of these guys.”
Sometimes, he said, rugged servicemen don’t believe they’re even qualified.
“A lot of people don’t think they will qualify for the program because they aren’t wounded,” he said. “In fact, I had one guy who had shapnel in his leg and was walking around on crutches who said he didn’t think he qualified for it.
“He said he was just walking to the chow hall and was hit by a mortar. To me, you don’t have to have shrapnel in your leg, you don’t have to have taken a bullet, you don’t have to have been rewarded for your war accomplishments to feel like you can benefit from standing in the water learning to fly fish.”
And creating the fly that fools the fish makes the experience especially rewarding.
“We don’t tie flies that are sophisticated, but the first fly we tie will catch fish,” Blankenship said.
Egg flies are often among the first attempted.
“They catch fish,” he said.
For now, the program is small.
“I would like to sort of keep it that way,” Henrie said. “It’s a very personal experience.”
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