Hooah! Stated with a certain conviction, it’s a phrase heard commonly among our service men and women. The only definition commonly found for the term states, “Referring to or meaning anything and everything except… no.”

This describes the efforts of Larry Stoafer, a former career military man and officer with the Leavenworth Bass Club.

Stoafer stumbled upon a Web site last year that described how fellow soldiers and anglers were doing things to help our nation’s returning wounded warriors. Nearing retirement from the Army and being an avid bass angler, Stoafer felt the call to continue to support his fellow troops, so he pursued advice from the experts with a certain amount of Hooah!

In this case, the experts are The Army Bass Anglers (www.armybassanglers.com), a group of talented, nationally known tournament anglers and soldiers whose motto is “Support, Defend, Fish” punctuated again by a big “HOOAH!”

The Army Bass Anglers organize an annual event in Texas called “Fishing for Freedom.” It’s a bass fishing tournament that pairs local anglers with soldiers who have been wounded in combat. Stoafer realized the Leavenworth area offered an ideal environment to host a similar event and accepted the mission.

At the time, the Leavenworth Chapter of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) had just begun an initiative called Helping our Own at Home (for those who didn’t catch it, HOOAH). “The inspiration from the Army Bass Anglers and the HOOAH folks was all we needed to dig in and get the wheels turning on a local Fishing for Freedom event,” Stoafer said.

The Fishing for Freedom Tournament is a “no entry fee” event that pairs avid tournament fishermen, local anglers and fishing guides with our returning heroes in a buddy bass tournament format on a local fishery. Its purpose is to let American heroes know how much their service and sacrifice are appreciated.

Stoafer’s inaugural event will launch from Long Shoal Marina on Truman Lake at 7 a.m. on Sept. 19, with a weigh-in at 2 p.m. An awards presentation and a camaraderie-building social with food and drinks will follow the weigh-in.

With the Global War on Terrorism now in its seventh year, America’s troops have served on multiple combat deployments. The stresses of combat and the high operational tempo have strained our service men and women and their families to no end, Stoafer said.

As the Fishing for Freedom Brochure explains, there is more to be done, and citizens back home who are free from these hardships can assist returning heroes deal with the baggage of combat and re-assimilate into everyday life and outdoor recreational activities make this job easier.

“These great Americans are the best our country has to offer,” Stoafer said. “They sacrifice and serve a purpose greater than their self. They are all volunteers yet take on the tremendous burdens of combat and expect very little in return. Their lives, personal desires and families are secondary to their patriotism and idealism. Duty, honor and selflessness still mean something to these young people.”

Getting the word out about the event has been the biggest challenge, Stoafer said. “We’ve distributed fliers, been on all the tournament fishing Web forums and created a Web page on our club Web site. We have anglers coming from as far as western Kentucky, Salina, Kan, and St. Louis, Mo.

“We currently have over 30 volunteer boaters who will pair with a returning veteran but hope to get at least a 50-boat field for this inaugural event.”

Stoafer would like to host the event annually or even semi-annually, but much of that will depend on sponsorships, bass angling community support and the Wounded Warrior and the Global War on Terror veteran population/support.

For those wanting more information on participating or helping out with this inaugural event, contact Larry Stoafer by email at Lsto19@yahoo.com or by phone at (913) 240-5254. For additional information about the event, log onto www.theleavenworthbassclub.org.

“The one thing that will always put a smile on any soldier’s face is a stranger’s handshake and heartfelt ‘Thank you for your service and sacrifice.’” Stoafer said.

He’s also hoping a day of fun and fellowship fishing the waters of Truman Lake next month won’t hurt any, either.

Outdoors correspondent Jeff Leonard can be reached at outdoors@npgco.com