Purple Heart Army Vet Thrilled To Get Coveted Wyoming Elk Hunt

When Chris Clemmens — a decorated Army combat veteran from Georgia — returns to Wyoming to hunt elk next month, seeing a grizzly bear in on his wish list.

So long as it’s from a safe distance, he told Cowboy State Daily.

“Wolves I’ve seen in the wild. And black bears I’ve seen in the wild,” said Clemmens, who grew up in Oregon. “But a grizzly bear, I’ve only ever seen in a zoo. They make a black bear look like a little teddy bear.

“I really want to see a grizzly in the wild, but to see one from afar through my binoculars or a spotting scope. And I can think, ‘Wow, cool. That’s a big bear!’ And then he can go his way, and I’ll go mine.”

Clemmens’ odds are good of having that wish fulfilled.

On Oct. 8, he’ll head out on a dream Wyoming elk hunt near Dubois thanks to a program that allows disabled and combat veterans to hunt on tags donated by Cowboy State residents.

Hoping For A Big Bull

The program is called Vets 4 Huntn & Fishn, it was founded as a nonprofit organization by Jacob DeLong of Springfield, Missouri, who served in combat with the Army’s 1st Armored Division.

The program is simple but effective, DeLong told Cowboy State Daily. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and wildlife agencies in other states allow residents to donate their hunting tags through reputable nonprofits like Vets 4 Huntn & Fishn.

The idea is to get veterans into the outdoors together, to help them bond, recover, relax and re-center themselves, DeLong said.

Last year, Vets 4 Huntn & Fishn got five donated elk tags through Game and Fish. This year, they got 15 general elk tags, he said.

That means the veterans will get opportunities to shoot bull elk in general tag hunt areas.

Clemmens came out for one of last year’s elk hunts in the Medicine Bow/Elk Mountain area.

The hunters were greeted by snow on the first day in camp, and the only elk they saw within shooting range was a cow.

“I didn’t want to shoot a cow elk, I want a bull,” Clemmens said, so he’s stoked about this year’s opportunity near Dubois.

He added that his wife, Brooke, is equally as stoked about him bringing home a big bull for a trophy taxidermy mount.

“She already has spot in our house picked out for it,” he said. “She’s been looking at taxidermy websites online. She found a picture of one where the bull’s head is tipped back and his mouth is open, like he’s doing a bugle, and she told me, ‘I want one like that.’”

Finding Healing In The Outdoors

DeLong said he’s witnessed the healing power the Wyoming outdoors has for veterans, and that’s inspired him to keep the program going, and growing.

He credits the outdoors for saving him.

After leaving the service, he was in a dark place. He isolated himself and tried to find solace in alcohol.

He’d grown up camping, hunting and fishing in the Northwest’s Sierra Mountains and figured that getting outdoors again would do him some good.

“I grabbed my tent and my fishing pole and headed outside,” he said, adding he noticed the positive effects almost immediately.

A friend who was also a veteran told DeLong that he should try launching a program to get other veterans outside, and so came the inspiration for Vets 4 Huntn & Fishn.

Clemmens said the outdoors has had similar healing effects on him.

Like DeLong and so many others, Clemmens was struggling to re-adjust to civilian life after leaving the military.

“The VA pushed a lot of meds on me, and the meds didn’t work for me,” he said.

But hunting and angling did.

“Getting out into the woods allows me to calm myself, recharge and refresh,” he said.

Purple Heart

Clemmens is a recipient of one of the military’s highest honors, the Purple Heart, which he earned by getting hit by shrapnel and fire.

In fall 2006, his unit was stationed in a remote outpost in Iraq. When they found out that a “logistics run” armored convoy was headed to a supply base, he and some of his fellow soldiers got clearance to go.

The piled into an armored personnel carrier. On the return trip, they had the vehicle packed with soft drinks, cigarettes and other items that were difficult to get at the isolated base.

The soldiers had also figured out how to rig an iPod though the vehicle’s radio system, so they could listen to music as they rumbled around.

“We were listening to ‘TNT’ by AC/DC,” he said.

That song turned out to ironically fitting.

“Right when they got to the part where the singer yells, ‘Watch me explode,’ the guy in the (observation hatch) yelled out ‘RPG!’” he said.

The rocket-propelled grenade flew over the top of the vehicle and exploded against the side of an adjacent building.

Then immediately afterward, enemy combatants set off a ground-based improvised bomb, which sprayed the vehicle’s interior with shrapnel and set its fuel cells on fire.

Clemmens suffered shrapnel wounds and a concussion.

“When we went to get out of the vehicle, they (the enemy) opened fire on us,” so the soldiers scrambled back inside.

Then they were faced with a terrible choice.

“Do I want to burn alive, or do I want to risk getting shot?” Clemmens said. “The six of us made the decision, ‘Yo, it’s hot in here, let’s get the f*** out of here.’”

Fortunately, by then two tanks from the column had rolled up and opened fire. The soldiers scrambled on to the tanks and rode them to safety. All six made it out alive, but wounded.

‘Those Guys In This Group Will Understand’

Clemmens’ ordeal is one example of experiences that military veterans have that civilians can’t fathom, he said. That’s what gives Vets 4 Huntn & Fishn meaning that goes far beyond the hunting trips themselves.

It puts veterans together in a relaxed space where they can talk openly with each other, he said.

“Jake (DeLong) has allowed us to keep that mentality and that family and that team connected,” Clemmens said. “So, if I’m having a rough day, my civilian friends that don’t understand, I can’t go to them. But I know those guys in this group will understand, and visa-versa, I will understand them.”

‘Wyoming Is Beautiful’

Clemmens can’t wait to return to Wyoming. Even with only one previous hunting trip where he didn’t bag a bull elk, he’s fallen in love with the Cowboy State.

“I love Wyoming. Wyoming is beautiful. I hope that crowds of people stay away from Wyoming and they don’t ruin it like they’ve ruined everything else,” he said. “I’ve been to 38 states. To me, Wyoming is the prettiest state I’ve ever been to.”

He also praised Game and Fish and the people of Wyoming for making the Vets 4 Huntn & Fishn hunting trips possible.

“The residents in Wyoming that turn around and donate the hunting tags, that’s amazing,” he said. “That’s absolutely amazing that people care that much about guys like me.

“The Game and Fish of Wyoming will never get enough appreciation and ‘thank you’ from veterans for making that happen.”

This year’s hunting trip won’t be his last Wyoming adventure, Clemmens added. He plans to keep coming back, regardless of whether he gets any more hunting tags.

“I plan on going to Wyoming once a year until I can’t do it anymore,” he said. “And If I get to keep doing it with other veterans, that will make it 10 times better.”

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.