Wounded warriors find hunters’ retreat

by Wanda Combs
Editor

Peter Petrin said he will never forget his first hunting experience in Floyd County, and he is looking forward to his next trip here. Petrin and other patients from Walter Reed Hospital traveled here this month for an outing hosted by brothers Brian and Barry Rorrer, assisted by Brad Parris.
“I have hunted my whole life,” said Brian, an avid outdoorsman, who was glad to share in the soldiers’ hunting experience. “One (of the soldiers) had never hunted. One had never harvested a deer with a bow. I was very proud of them, and they left happy.”
Brian, a paramedic and a vet himself from the first Gulf War, has a father who served in Vietnam and a grandfather who was in World War II. He said he and an ER doctor were talking and “we thought about how great it would be to get some of those coming back with injuries and getting them into the woods. I just ran with it. I started making phone calls to the arsenal.”
“These guys are truly heroes,” Brian continued. “I kind of feel like they’re almost forgotten. We see it on the news, and we’re kind of numb to it.”
The wounded soldiers have suffered lifelong injuries, he commented. “They’ve lost an arm, a leg, both.” There’s only one more step to take for your country, he added.
Petrin, who is very appreciative of the gesture made by the brothers and their friends, said he believes the Floyd County men are the ones who are heroes. “This comes second to none. They opened up their hearts and lives….They are the true heroes of the community.”
Altogether, five soldiers drove down from Walter Reed in a van. They used special bows supplied by local sponsors and ended up getting six deer, which they donated to people in Floyd County. Along with access to the Rorrers’ property, the hunters were given permission to hunt on local resident Jerry Duncan’s land.
The men were able to stay in Barry’s house during their trip here, and the Rorrers now would like to get it retrofitted with ramps to provide greater accessibility for the veterans. “We’re still working on that and hoping that happens,” Brian said. “We’ve been wide open since they’ve left.”
The brothers also want to build a bunkroom for the soldiers beside Barry’s house. Then the soldiers can sleep in the bunkroom and eat and shower in Barry’s house. “Essentially we’d like it to become a soldiers’ retreat,” Brian said.
The Rorrers’ plans also include ladder stands for amputees. The stands, Brian explained, are leaned up against a tree and have a large seat and platform. “It’s like climbing a large ladder so these guy with prosthetics will have a safe way to get them up there, off the ground where the turkeys and deer cannot see them.” The Rorrers said they would also like to revamp blinds on the ground for soldiers who cannot climb.
Brian said with more help the special crossbows needed by those who have prosthetics could be purchased. “There is a brand of crossbow that has an acudraw; rather than cocking it back with your hands or cords, it has a winding mechanism at the stock of the crossbow that winds the bow back until it is cocked. Without it, three of them would have been unable to hunt.”
Petrin, who served in Afghanistan, is reaching out to area veterans for help with the projects.
He and other soldiers plan to return soon. Brian said in addition to the Army veterans, he is now contacting the Marines. He wants to have the soldiers down during rifle season, and he also would like to find a guide that would donate a fishing trip to do striper fishing at Smith Mountain Lake. In the summer, he said he would like to have the soldiers come for camping and cookouts, too.
This month, Petrin, who is originally from Virginia, said he especially enjoyed the good times sitting on the front porch telling stories.
“I love spending time with these guys,” Brian said. “They are the heroes of America.”
(If you wish to donate toward the soldiers’ retreat, call Brian Rorrer at 540-392-9444, email him at , or send mail to 288 Rorrer Road, Floyd, VA 24091.)