The Madras Pioneer

Dream set to become reality for Madras man

Soldiers of the Snake

Photo by Holly M. Gill

Dan Comingore, of Madras, plans to take a group of wounded veterans on a two-day boat trip on the Snake River in October. Comingore, who has a 24-foot jet boat, has recruited three other boat captains to take their boats to allow more veterans and veterans' family members to participate.

Holly M. Gill

September 16, 2009

For several years, Dan Comingore, of Madras, has dreamed about doing something for soldiers wounded while serving in the military.

In just over a month, the former U.S. Army combat engineer will finally realize that dream, when he and several others take a group of wounded veterans on a two-day steelhead fishing trip on the Snake River in Hells Canyon Oct. 23-25.

When the idea for the trip first occurred to Comingore about three years ago, he contacted veterans groups around the state with his suggestion. "Nobody really got back to me," he said. "They were just very busy."

Despite the seeming lack of interest, Comingore, an experienced fisherman and river guide who owns a 24-foot jet boat, was determined to share his expertise and good fortune with others, and persisted with his search.

"Every year I go down the Snake River," he said. "I have a job that allows me to do that. Why not share that with guys that have sacrificed more than anyone -- other than another veteran -- knows?"

A graduate of Madras High School, Comingore, 37, works as an agronomist for Wilbur-Ellis, of Madras. He and his wife Ronica have two young sons, Conner, 5, and Chase, 3, who sometimes join him on his fishing trips.

Earlier this year, his persistence paid off when he came across a Web site called `Wounded Warriors Project,' set up to provide assistance to wounded veterans and their caregivers.

Comingore sent an e-mail to the site with his idea and contact information. "I've got the knowledge, the skills; I've got the boat," he said. "The very next day, I got an e-mail back from a guy in New York, N.Y."

The man put him in touch with others involved in the Wounded Warriors Project. "I had no idea where to start," he said. "They were able to put me into contact with disabled veterans in the Pacific Northwest."

The "Soldiers of the Snake" fishing trip was born, and in a short time, had grown beyond his initial expectations. Comingore found it necessary to locate additional boats and guides.

"As of right now," he said Friday, "we have four boats locked up with boat captains and deck mates."

The 24-foot jet boats will each be equipped to transport two disabled veterans and two guests. "We have seven wounded warriors and guests coming," he said. Everything will be provided free of charge.

Comingore and Cody Kollen, of Madras, who is helping him out as deck mate, will meet up with the other boat captains, Jim McGarvin, of Caldwell, Idaho, as well as his son Rob McGarvin and Dan Byington, in Oxbow.

"Boat captains provide fuel for their boats, their time, and the fishing gear," he said.

The first night, Comingore is planning a barbecue for all the participants, who will stay in two rental houses in Oxbow for the weekend. One of the rental houses is being provided at no cost "by a gentleman who lives in Oxbow."

Comingore is in the process of raising funds for the trip, which he estimates will cost $1,500 to $1,700 for food, fuel, lodging, and sweatshirts.

So far, several locals have stepped up with donations: Tom and Stacy Norton, of Norton Cattle Co., have donated beef for the barbecue; Seth Klann has donated his artwork for the logo; Kelly Simmelink, of Identity Zone, will embroider the logo on the sweatshirts, at no cost; and Oregon Beef will sell him rib-eyes at cost.

The trip is generating excitement among the participants, including Brett Miller, of Sisters, a retired U.S. Army National Guard sergeant, who was injured in 2005 in Iraq.

"I took a roadside bomb 6 feet off my door," said Miller, who is blind in his right eye, deaf in his left ear, and hemiplegic, "which means half-paralyzed, on the left side."

From August 2005 until December 2008, when he was released, Miller, who had a "brain bleed," suffered through 28 surgeries in hospitals "everywhere from Landstuhl, Germany, to Walter Reed (Washington, D.C.) to Fort Lewis, Wash., and then Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto (Calif.)."

"Any deployment kind of wipes you out," said Miller, who is excited about the trip. "It's nice to have someone step forward and do something like this."

Comingore also invited Meg and Wes Tucker, of Madras, the parents of Pfc. Thomas Tucker, 25, who was kidnapped and killed in June 2006 in Iraq, and a friend of theirs, Greg Peterson, of Redmond, whose son Lance Cpl. Dale Peterson, 20, a Marine, was killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq in 2007.

"I thought this would be a great trip for them," he said, noting that the Tuckers were able to get time off work and "were elated."

Meg Tucker agreed that they were all thrilled to be invited. "I am so looking forward to this," she said. "I haven't had the desire to do much in the last three years."

"The hardest part of this was, Tommy was so outgoing, and he would talk me into these things." With her son gone, Tucker said, "I felt guilty if I had fun."

When Comingore called to say he had some extra room on one of the boats, she finally felt ready to let go of the guilt. "I don't know what released me," Tucker said. "I'm just ready to go. I might not be a veteran, but I've been wounded, too."

For Comingore, the fishing trip is a way of showing appreciation to veterans. "Thank you for sacrificing what you have sacrificed, so folks can live in peace and not have to worry," he said.

Donations may be made to: Soldiers of the Snake, Columbia River Bank, P.O. Box O, Madras, OR 97741.