MN DAV Chapter 39 members Travis Rust and Ken Plant have discovered they have a lot in common. They both served in the Marine Corps. A generation apart, they both were stationed at the Marine Air Wing at Cherry Point, NC (Rust as a Harrier mechanic, Plant as a correspondent). They both serve on the Annual Leo Luskey DAV Golf Tournament fundraising committee and both receive ongoing physical therapy at the Minneapolis VAMC. David VanDoorn, Travis Rust, Ken Plant
Rust and Plant have come to a NEW and mutual realization, some of the best therapy does not have to come from the VA Mental Health clinic. In fact, spending the morning in a boat with volunteer fishing guide David VanDoorn, can have significant and positive mental health value. Rust and Plant participated in the “Ken Yontz” Take-A-Veteran Fishing event on Sunday, Sept. 19, along with other Veterans. The two Marines spent the day on Lake Minnetonka which included a morning of fishing followed by lunch with a variety of informational and educational speakers. The event is just one of the outdoor programs offered to Veterans by the Operation Outdoor Freedom Foundation https://operationfishingfreedom.com/Travis Rust
VanDoorn was their fishing guide that morning and helped them boat some nice-sized bass. The two DAV members spent the morning talking about how the DAV supports Veterans and their Families, as well as how both the DAV and Minneapolis VA Hospital has helped them with their own struggles since leaving the service. The professional guide shared how Operation Outdoor Freedom Foundation has also helped Veterans and Family members.
All three agreed in the boat that morning, that fishing, as well as other outdoor sports, has meaningful therapy for the “mind and soul.” VanDoorn volunteers to take Veterans fishing throughout Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota up to 150 days per year. More about Take-A-Vet fishing can be found at http://takeavetfishing.org/Ken Plant
Just some of the supportive organizations attendees learned about included…
Today is Member Monday, highlighting some of our MN DAV Chapter 39 members. Ken Plant, an active member of MN DAV Chapter 39, served in the Marine Corps as a correspondent from 1969 to 1974. A graduate of the Defense Information School and the Senior DINFOS, he joined the ranks of U.S. Army public affairs practitioners in 1983. He retired in 2016 with 36 years of service but continues to volunteer with organizations focused on serving veterans and educating the public about the role of the military. Webmaster for MN DAV Chapter 39, Plant serves on the annual golf tournament committee and is actively involved in promoting fund-raising events through social media and providing photographic and video coverage. Check out the Chapter’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MNDAVAnokaChapter39 and a sample of event coverage at https://anoka39davmn.com/leo-luskey-annual-dav-golf-tournament/.
In addition to the DAV, he is a lifetime member and public affairs officer of the Army Reserve Association and a lifetime member of the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association. Since 2014 Plant has teamed up with other veterans of various eras through “The Telling Project,” (https://thetellingproject.org/) sharing service in the military on college stages, theaters, public radio stations, and in 2017 was recruited to be a member of the Twin Cities Public Television and Tell Project’s production of MN Remembers Vietnam, which aired nationally on PBS. A few weeks after the production, cast member, Ken Sholes, had a stroke resulting in paralysis and aphasia. Plant volunteered to become his caregiver and with the help of Minneapolis VA Medical Center therapists and doctors, assisted with his recovery. Ken and Ken became frequent volunteers of local DAV fund-raising events and outdoor sponsored veteran programs. Three years later, In November 2020, Sholes, while visiting his sister in Maryland, had a seizure and passed. Plant orchestrated Ken Sholes’ committal service with military honors at Fort Snelling Cemetery, attended by his family and DAV Chapter 39 honor detail in attendance. For the DAV’s Bicentennial event in November 2020, Plant participated in the Walk, Roll, Run, and Ride 5K, honoring “Ken Sholes” on Veterans Day at the new Veterans Park in Blaine. He also volunteered in 2018 and again in 2019 to help present DAV embroidered blankets to Veterans in Anoka and surrounding county nursing homes.
This Fall, Plant is revisiting the next chapter in his life, seeking employment with a value-based organization, and returning to his passions of painting, sculpting, and bass fishing.
The Disabled American Veterans of Minnesota is membership group made up of women and men who have been disabled in our nation’s defense.
WHAT WE DO.
We are dedicated to one clear mission – to better the lives of Minnesota’s disabled veterans and their families. We employ a variety of strategies to help us achieve this mission:
We provide free, professional assistance to veterans and their families in obtaining benefits and services earned through military service and provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other agencies of government;
We provide outreach concerning its program services to the American people generally and to disabled veterans and their families specifically;
We represent the interests if disabled veterans; their families; their widowed spouses and their orphans before Congress, the White House, and the Judicial Branch, as well as state and local government;
We extend DAV’s mission of hope into the communities where these veterans and their families live through a network of state-level Departments and local Chapters; and
We provide a structure through which disabled veterans can express their compassion for their fellow veterans through a variety of volunteer programs.
