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Ray White was on the first of his many deployments when he signed up on my website. Swapping a few emails, he told me a few stories depicting the daily life of a "Bomb Squad" guy, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). I suspect he was putting some sugar on what must have been harrowing days.

Ray asked if I would send some DVDs for his crew to watch on down times. I sent a big box of DVDs and other swag. He sent me a heartfelt letter of thanks. We kept in touch over the times of his return stateside and his following deployments. I worried about him, given what he was going through, the number of losses to EODs he was leading. The stress of all of this while being away from his family. His big heart worrying about the families of so many others besides himself.

I didn't hear from him for over two years when he finished his last deployment. I kept pinging short emails, worried as hell. One day he wrote back explaining how dark his world had become. I didn't know what to do, but staying in touch seemed to be some small part.

I invited him to go on a Colorado elk hunt. He replied that he just wasn't able to do it that year; he was still working through so many issues. He was struggling, no doubt. I offered what I could to help, but that was pretty much nothing.

I kept in touch. I invited him to share on a bison hunt in 2018. He agreed to join us. He told me it was still a tough road, but he thought the path ahead was getting better. We had a blast on that bison hunt. His presence was surely the highlight of our bison hunt. He had recently started taxidermy school, so it seemed the bison hide would fit better at his place.

I have a Nevada friend whose cousin owns a ranch. The rancher had an antelope voucher he wanted to get rid of that would allow hunting on public land. When he called me, knowing my antelope addiction, I asked him to hold it for a couple hours. I called Ray to see if he wanted to go antelope hunting. He couldn't say YES quick enough. I didn't tell him all the details, just told him to get his calendar cleared for late August.

We met up in Eastern Nevada. This video is the story of a hunt that is the most memorable antelope hunt I have ever experienced. So much more than just a hunt. I can't wait until the next time Ray spends a camp with us.

To all of you who served, I thank you all. I wish I could shake all your hands. To "EOD Ray," thanks for making my life so much richer.

We are now posting these Amazon versions on our YouTube channel. To watch, go to the link above. I will post the direct Amazon link in the next post.

I hope you enjoy Ray's hunt as much as I did.

May God Bless our Military men and women Past, Present and future.