My Special Day with Fst Sgt Billy Luce - Long

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scottsweet
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My Special Day with Fst Sgt Billy Luce - Long

Post by scottsweet »

All,

What a day this was yesterday. I had the privilege and honor to take out First Sergeant Billy Luce fishing for his first time in Southern California. He was smiles from ear to ear despite his physical limitations and the minimal fishing time. Here is the story…

I got a call from his son Rob Luce a few weeks back. He said, "My name is Rob Luce and I am bringing my father, a veteran, to Southern California, from Florida, and was hoping you would take me and my Dad fishing for his birthday..." I said I would be honored. We talked and I learned that Billy Luce, 79 years old, has Parkinson’s disease as a result of Agent Orange from Vietnam. I asked Rob a few questions regarding his father’s ability to get on the boat, handle the sun, etc, and we were set for Saturday, June 23, 2012. He told me that we would probably be out for only a couple of hours because of Billy’s arthritic back.

You see, Billy Luce is a U.S. Army veteran who served for 27 years. Among his tours were the Korean War and Vietnam War. He was honored with a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Among his feats were taking out a machine gun nest that was shooting at his platoon by circling around behind without the enemy’s notice. His Purple Heart was because he took a shot in the shoulder by a sniper…a shot probably intended for his head.

This past Saturday morning when we met, I found him ready to go. I introduced myself and said, “Thank you for the honor.” Rob said to me, “You have no idea how excited he is to be here.” I replied, “You have no idea how excited I am to be here!” Finally Billy asked, “we are getting a late start huh?” His son replied, “yea, you fisherman all want to be on the water at the crack of dawn.“ Always in our blood… I knew when I saw him and his eyes, he was a special man and this was going to be a special day.

Right away I could see he was frail, but with a smile a mile long. Rob told me his father was so excited when he gave him this fishing trip for his birthday…and he didn’t sleep all night last night. I brought an extra new Ranger hat that I had and said to him, “well, you need to put on your uniform now.” What a smile he had and Billy said, “I always wanted one of these…but I never wanted to spend the money.” I said, “Well, you have one now!”

We headed up to the lake, drove down to the bottom of the launch ramp and got out his walker. I walked over to the lifeguard on duty, Steve, and asked if he would please help me get Billy down the dock and into my boat. We lifted him out of the car and slowly walked him down the dock. After about 5 minutes, we got him from the dock to his seat in my boat. Each step had to be carefully navigated to ensure he wouldn’t fall. He was all bundled up with jackets, ski gloves, extra towel to cover his legs, life jacket and of course his cool sunglasses ☺. It was about 7:30am and he was ready!

We headed to Elizabeth with the hope of getting some bass still chasing the shad. We went from the sun to the shade and Billy got cold so we turned around and headed back to the sunshine. I decided to try the points coming out of Elizabeth. We got Billy unbundled, carefully got him up and put him in to the back full size chair. He asked, “Do you have any side rails for the chair?” Of course the answer was no so we had to really watch him in the chair. Even though he was fully seated, it was hard for him to keep his balance and stay in the chair. I got him his spinning rod and we were fishing. It took a few casts to get him going, but he got it back soon enough. Because of the Parkinson’s, his casts were pretty short, not more than 50 feet.

I started by not fishing to give Billy all the chances to catch fish. After a while at the insistence of Rob, I started fishing to try to figure out what was going on but I had to keep an eye on Billy. His son stayed with him and we kept at it. We stayed there for about an hour. We tried multiple points and caught nothing.

I decided to make a run to the rocky points across from the West Ramp. We got Billy back in his seat, bundled him back up and made the run. You know, all of us bass anglers are so used to being in a bass boat. We all have been in older and newer boats, smaller and larger. I bet we have forgotten the very first time we were in a shiny new, cool bass boat, like a new Ranger. Both Billy and Rob have seen them, but never been in one. When the boat got going, their eyes would light up and they were so excited. It was so cool to see them so happy – together, father and son.

We got to the points across from the West Ramp and got Billy back in his fishing chair. It was warming up a bit and we were able to take off some of the warm clothes from Billy. Rob decided he wanted to fish too this time. I put a rod in his hand and within 5 minutes he had a fish on…about 1 lber. I changed up Billy’s bait to match hoping he would get bit. The challenge with Billy was that if I got too far from the shore, he would cast short, close the bail too soon and not get the bait to the bottom. If I got closer, he wasn’t able to work the bait back to the deeper water. He certainly wasn’t used to the finesse fishing we do here in Southern California. I tried to remind him to keep the bail open to allow the bait to reach the bottom.

Rob grew up in Louisiana and fished a lot with his father growing up. He told me his Dad would pick him up early from school to take him fishing. He was used to the cast and reel style so common for the south. I explained to Rob that he may not even feel the bite…he would just pick up the rod tip and there would be a fish there.

Another 15 minutes went by and Rob had another fish on. You could see that Billy was getting a little frustrated. I said to Billy, “You aren’t going to let your son beat you now are you?” He said, “I don’t understand why he is getting bit, I am doing the same thing as him.” We have all seen that huh!

It was approaching 9:15 a.m. and Billy was starting to complain that his back was hurting. Rob asked if he wanted to go in and he said “No, one more cast…” He kept trying and I was watching him while also trying to get hooked up. We dodged a few wakes as the recreational boaters were starting to come out more now. I knew time was running short. I was trying to catch a fish, without Billy knowing, and then hand him the rod with a fish already on. We both kept trying, to no avail. About 9:30 a.m., Billy said he had had enough and we needed to get back.

On the way in, I ran the boat at about 8 or 9 mph. I wanted to talk to Fst Sgt. Billy Luce. I wanted to understand why Rob called his father his hero. I wanted to learn a little bit about this man who gave 27 years of his life to serve this great U.S.A. as an enlisted military man who volunteered for service with his younger brother. His brother also loves to bass fish in Texas, 5 minutes from Sam Rayburn. He is married for over 50 years. He has traveled the world including Italy. He followed orders from his superiors and ended up with a life limiting disease that slowly chips away at his life. But he still loves to bass fish…till life won’t allow him to do it.

We got back to the dock and again got the assistance from the lifeguard on duty. We got him back in the car and we said our goodbyes. I went up to Billy in the car, shook has hand and with tears welling up in my eyes said “Thank you for the honor.” He said, “Thank you for making this a great day. You should come by some time.” I said, “Perhaps we can, and you are most welcome.” I talked to Rob once again and we hugged. He said, “Thank you again for making this such a special day. I really appreciate it. We should keep in touch.”

I will remember this day for the rest of my life. It was only three hours, but three hours that seemed to fill a lifetime. I would do it again with another veteran in a heartbeat. For all of those out there wondering what it is like, this letter is only the tip of the iceberg of how I felt. I hope you all get the opportunity to experience what I experienced yesterday, Saturday, June 23, 2012.

To First Sergeant Billy Luce, thank you for your service to this great country. Thank you for your duty and providing the freedom we all enjoy in America. Most importantly, thank you for asking me to give you and your son a special day. It was my greatest pleasure and one I will never forget!
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Scott Sweet

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VangBass1
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Re: My Special Day with Fst Sgt Billy Luce - Long

Post by VangBass1 »

Scott,
A couple of hours fishing can last a life time of memories. Im sure you were the hero for the day, great job bud!! :D
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Nunyo Bizness
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Re: My Special Day with Fst Sgt Billy Luce - Long

Post by Nunyo Bizness »

Nice job Scott.
I came , I saw, I Cleaned and Dried.
A Perez
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Re: My Special Day with Fst Sgt Billy Luce - Long

Post by A Perez »

That is a great story good job.
kane-o
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Re: My Special Day with Fst Sgt Billy Luce - Long

Post by kane-o »

scott, thank you for giving your time to our vets !! that was a very touching story. bummer you could not get on any fish for him. but im sure this trip will be in their memories forever. kudos !! :wink:
Rick G
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Re: My Special Day with Fst Sgt Billy Luce - Long

Post by Rick G »

Great story Scott! Thanks for sharing. Rick G.
Anglers Marine has been serving Southern California boaters and fishermen since 1981, with the West's largest bass fishing tackle store and the best boat dealership on the west coast.
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dwise
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Re: My Special Day with Fst Sgt Billy Luce - Long

Post by dwise »

Okay, now I'm crying. Thanks alot! Great story!
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mark poulson
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Re: My Special Day with Fst Sgt Billy Luce - Long

Post by mark poulson »

Well done. Karma.
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scottsweet
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Re: My Special Day with Fst Sgt Billy Luce - Long

Post by scottsweet »

Thanks all...It is also published on FLW Outdoors...

http://www.flwoutdoors.com/fishing-arti ... illy-luce/

Rob and Billy were very excited to hear the news here. Thanks everyone for your support.

Scott
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Re: My Special Day with Fst Sgt Billy Luce - Long

Post by Caveman »

Awesome, Scott! Just Awesome!!
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