EDITORIAL

Fatigue-clad soldiers voluntarily hoisted 40-pound rucksacks to march along the rock-strewn back roads outside Medina on Saturday. They marched in small groups for 26 miles. When they arrived at their destination, exchanging boots for flip-flops and cushioned insoles, many of them stepped lightly, some limped a little — but not one complained.

 

The San Antonio-based volunteers were at Echo Hill Ranch to participate in the commemoration of the Bataan Death March, a World War II event in which Japanese soldiers forced some 75,000 American and Filipino soldiers to march 65 miles to trains that would take them to prison camps. Thousands are estimated to have died either on the march or in the camps.

 

“I walked 26.2 miles with a backpack on, and it was awesome. It was everything I thought it would be and so much more. It was 8 hours and 10 minutes of nonstop hills. It was good. … I fully realize again why they call this the Texas Hill Country,” U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Michael Davis said of the march. He’s been in the Army for 16 years.

 

Kinky Friedman expressed appreciation and awe for the volunteer soldiers who participated in the march.

 

“Just the idea that the little things are important, too. Some things like today, watching the guys march 26 miles, ... that was a significant thing. It (the Bataan Death March) was a tragedy,” Friedman said.

 

Davis, like all the other soldiers at the ranch, were also there to support the re-opening of Echo Hill Ranch camp to a special group of kids: the children of Gold Star and first responder families, whose lives are impacted by the death of a parent killed while in the line of duty. The volunteers meet about once a month to “do whatever needs to be done” around the ranch to get the camp in shape for this summer.

 

“We typically bring a big group of people. ... It’s all volunteer hours for them. Soldiers can earn a volunteer service medal, if they do a certain number of hours,” Davis said.

 

The camp fills a gap Davis said is much needed for the families of fallen service members.

 

“It targets an audience that I think is often forgotten, fallen service members’ families. The adults, they go, they do all this great stuff, and the kids are left at home and dealing with all of the craziness that goes on after. In one or two years, families, friends, etc. forget about that whole instance that changed the trajectory of that child’s life,” he said.

 

The 266-acre camp was in operation from 1953 until about five years ago and has been run by the same family, the Friedmans. Marcie Friedman and her brother, Kinky Friedman, have now taken charge and repurposed the camp in a way Marcie Friedman says isn’t being done anywhere in the U.S.

 

“I looked everywhere I could and couldn’t find anything like this anywhere,” she said in a phone interview Wednesday.

 

“Internationally recognized for its noncompetitive child-centered program, Echo Hill has focused on each youngster’s successful away-from-home experience. Using a range of activities from horseback riding and swimming to the creative arts and athletics, Echo Hill builds self-confidence and improves social skills in children,” the camp’s website reads.

 

The camp retains its rustic look and old-fashioned camping experience with hands-on activities in an area of the Hill Country that doesn’t get cellphone service.

 

“The program will be good. Anything to get the children away from their computers for a few minutes. … This place is really neat, because it shows you what things used to be like,” retired Sgt. Major Tommy Shook said over a hot dog lunch set up for visitors at Saturday’s event.

 

Active duty and retired military veterans, Gold Star families, civilian volunteers, neighbors and friends of the Friedmans were all there to show their support.

 

Buddy Gee, “80-plus” years old, is a Vietnam veteran in special forces. He met Marcie Friedman when she spoke to the San Antonio chapter of the Special Forces Association after Kinky Friedman called to tell him what he and his sister were starting up.

 

“Being a veteran, of course we’re going to support veteran-related organizations,” Gee said. “They can always use help, whether it’s volunteer help or monetary support, donations, whatever. It’s really funded by Marcie and Kinky.”

 

He and his wife, Sharon, said there are a couple of Gold Star families in their chapter of SFA.

 

“One Gold Star family in our organization had three green berets in their family. One of the sons got killed in Afghanistan. He has, I think, two kids who would be eligible for this camp,” Sharon Gee said.

 

Cary Robinson met Marcie Friedman in the 1970s as a camper at Echo Hill; he later became a counselor and has been friends with the Friedmans ever since. His family’s foundation, The Sonnie Schepps-Robinson Foundation, has provided financial support to the project.

 

“It used to be a camp for regular kids. … Then Marcie came back, and Kinky had this great idea that he wanted to start the camp back up for Gold Star families, and I thought it was a wonderful idea,” Robinson said. “I’ve come out a bunch and done work with these guys (service members). … They are dynamite.”

 

In order to facilitate supporting the kids, Kinky Friedman said they are following the “Paul Newman model” of 100% of financial support going to the charity.

 

“It’s easy for me to say, but if I lost a parent prematurely, that would have an impact on me. Life is really — as my Uncle Eli used to say — is playing a poor hand well. We’re not teaching anything; this is not a clinic; it’s not a school. It is fun — make new friends, get new role models, and if you want to come back next year, you come back,” Kinky Friedman said.

 

The program is “mostly the basics,” Kinky Friedman said, like horseback riding, hunting for arrowheads, overnight hikes and cook-outs. “There’s a lot of things we can do,” he said.

 

The camp is set for its inaugural session to open to campers June 21-30 and July 1-July 20 for Gold Star kids and July 13-22 for children of first responders. All campers enrolled for summer 2020 will be guaranteed a spot for 2021, regardless of age, the camp’s website reads.

 

To find out how children of Gold Star families and first responders can attend, email military.outreach@echohill.org or info@echohill.org, or call 830-589-2520.

 

“Marcie and Kinky and team have gone above and beyond to make sure everything is set up, and I think the networks and relationships that they’ve built are going to make a lasting impact on children's lives across the country. I’m proud to be a part of it and will continue to be a part as long as I can,” Davis said.

​

Tag: Feature

Source: The Kerrville Daily Times