The joys of the great outdoors are easily taken for granted by many of us who call this great country home. For most of us it’s easy to head down to our boats, or the shoreline, and cast a line in hopes of catching a fish. However, for many of our wounded veterans, that served the United States in battle, this is simply not the case. The laborious task to just get to the water is often an obstacle too great for many of our veterans to overcome. In addition, the costs involved pertaining to equipment and or guide fees put many outdoor adventures financially out of reach for many injured veterans.
That’s where my friend and fellow captain Vincent LaSorsa has stepped up and stepped in. Vinnie is a seasonal visitor to Montauk, NY where he helms the Last Mango, Jimmy Buffet’s personal sport fishing vessel. Vinnie has a younger brother, 1st Lt. Joe LaSorsa that is a U.S. Marine Veteran who saw combat in the Middle East. Since returning home, many of Lt. LaSora’s military compatriots have also begun arriving stateside. Many of these veterans have returned home gravely scarred from combat injuries and experiences. Through Joe, Vinnie began hearing recollections of the veteran’s war time incidents. It was at this time that Vinnie decided he had to do something to help these warriors out.
At the start of Capt. Vinnie’s mission, all trips were arranged through the Wounded Warrior Project. However, Vinnie eventually decided to start his own organization called Freedom Fighter Outdoors. Vinnie volunteered his time, with his personal boat, to take some of the injured veterans out fishing from his home port in Florida. Vinnie’s goal was to help curb the staggering number of post war suicides that were occurring within the veteran community. Many of these suicides were the result of the service veterans having experienced traumatic brain injuries, and post traumatic stress disorder. With his fishing outings, Vinnie wanted to provide the veterans with some much needed quality time in the great outdoors, hopeful that the veterans would be able to exercise some of the demons resulting from their combat experiences.
In time, Vinnie informed Jimmy Buffet what he was doing with the veterans. Once Mr. Buffet became aware of Vinnie’s efforts he immediately volunteered the use of the Last Mango to the cause. With the Last Mango on board, Capt. Vinnie now had the ability to bring along the veteran’s family members. This allowed Vinnie to show many more veterans and family members a once in a lifetime experience that would help honor and empower our nations injured service veterans. Vinnie was also able to show the nation’s gratitude to the veteran’s families for the great sacrifices made to the United States of America.
At present, approximately 6 fishing trips a year take place at the renowned ports of Key West, FL, Montauk, NY, and Nantucket, MA. In due course, the word spread about what Capt. Vinnie was accomplishing and many local captains decided to get involved, offering their their vessels free of charge to the veterans and their families. These outings have grown into mini fishing tournaments where the veterans get to compete against one another for the biggest fish caught.
The experiences for the Freedom Fighters begin with an arrival dinner the night before the excursions, so all the parties can get comfortable at a meet and greet. Fishing begins the next morning with a fun filled tournament with prizes being donated by Yeti, Garmin, West Marine, Gost Global Security, Nitelz, Lawless, Edwards and Warren Investment Firm, The Zislin Group at Morgan Stanley and many other great sponsors. After the day’s fishing all involved are treated to a delicious BBQ dinner where the experiences of the day can be re-lived through fish tales, and prizes are awarded to the victors. The next day the veterans can stay and enjoy the ambiance of the various fishing communities, or they can head home and relish their experiences over and over again.
As mentioned earlier, the cost of the boats are donated by the captains involved. However, funds are needed for the freedom fighters and their families for airfare, lodging, transportation, and meals. If anyone would like to make a donation to this wonderful cause donations can be sent to: Freedom Fighter Outdoors, 2436 North Federal Highway #312, Lighthouse Point, FL 33064. Or you can log onto the web at www.FreedomFighterOutdoors.org/donate, emails can be sent to info@freedomfighteroutdoors.org, or you can call 1-800-625-2565. I have donated a trip aboard my vessel the Grand Slam that will take place in June, and I’m looking forward to many more Freedom Fighter Outdoors events in the future.
Dear sir.
me and my friend antonio Solomon are 100% disabled veterans who suffered traumatic brain injuries. We recently bought deep sea fishing tackle and took deep drop fishing as our new hobby. We are looking for a fishing charter. Will you please give us information.
I was reading on your site and we would like to participate and fish with you.