Helping hands for veterans
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ELKINS -- Dawson's Towing in Elkins gave a generous donation to the Warriors in the Field charity organization this week, leading up to the nonprofit's boar hunting trip next month.
Brian Dawson of Dawson's presented Warriors in the Field founder Dave Whittaker with a donation check Wednesday afternoon. Both Whittaker and Dawson said Dawson's Towing has been donating to the organization for around four years.
When asked why they continue to donate to the nonprofit, Dawson said it was because of what Warriors in the Field does for veterans.
"It's a good cause," Dawson told The Inter-Mountain. "Helping the veterans out... (Whittaker) is helping people out and the veterans, helping them out. Paying back our respects, I guess."
Warriors in the Field was founded in 2015 by Whittaker and his wife. He said Oct. 2 of this year will be the nonprofit's 10-year anniversary. With the help of a multitude of volunteers from Wheeling to Lexington, Va., Warriors in the Field takes disabled veterans out on excursions like hunting and fishing trips.
"I wasn't able to serve in the military... so this is our way of giving back to the veterans," Whittaker told The Inter-Mountain. "I told my wife, 'If I can't serve my country, I'll serve the ones that did serve our country.'"
Two weeks ago, six veterans were taken by Warrior in the Field to a pheasant hunting trip in Rock Cave. On April 5 and 6, Warriors in the Field will be taking six more veterans wild boar hunting in Greenville, and eight veterans in total will get to go on a smallmouth bass float fishing trip 8 miles up the New River in two separate trips in May and June.
Whittaker said Warriors in the Field has been able to service more and more veterans throughout the years thanks to support from the community.
"Our first year that we did it, we were able to take two veterans out," Whittaker said. "Our second year we did it, we were able to take four or five... and now, because of the support of a lot of local businesses and fundraisers and sponsors like Dawson's Towing... now we average 50 to 60 vets a year that we take."
Warriors in the Field keeps its focus mostly in West Virginia, with most trips occurring in-state. Of the approximately 600 veterans they've taken on trips in the past 10 years, all were from West Virginia except seven.
"We don't disregard any veterans, but we focus on West Virginia," Whittaker said.
To learn more about Warriors in the Field or to make a donation, visit the group's Facebook page or the website at warriorsinthefield.org.