Alaska Fishing

OFF ELRINGTON ISLAND -- Until U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Donny Cartwright begins filling out some fish-processing paperwork, he appears no different than any other angler enjoying a pleasant day of halibut fishing along Alaska's Gulf coast.

He jokes and laughs with the other dozen or so servicemen aboard the charter boat Perseverance out of Seward. He is quick and enthusiastic about cranking up halibut that grab the herring on the hook at the end of his line deep in the cold, North Pacific waters.

Only when he tries to grasp that thin pen at the end of the day is there any sign of a problem. Cartwright's right hand doesn't quite have the feel for the small instrument. He struggles to get it into a writing position.

Later, the reason why emerges. He is still recovering from a bullet wound to the head he suffered in Iraq, as well as a brain-rattling concussion from one of those bombs that have come to be called "improvised explosive devices."

Cartwright hesitantly slides his baseball cap back to reveal a scar along the side of his head that traces the path of the bullet that went through his helmet. Despite the near-death experience, he is a lucky man.

He made it. Others in his unit did not.

He'll never know why. Fate? Luck? Divine intervention? Who knows?

Like others aboard the Perseverance on this calm Thursday in the Gulf, Cartwright doesn't particularly want to talk about his experiences in Iraq, yet he does.

Work helps define us, and for many of the soldiers and airmen on this boat, the effort to make something of the chaos of Iraq has been their job.

Many of us think of Army infantry as the foot soldiers slogging it out day-to-day, doing the dirty but necessary work of America's massive war machine, said Staff Sgt. Keenan Williams. But there's a lot more to it.

"You go out one day to open up a school," he said. "You go out the next day to put down a riot."

A native son of Alaska, Williams has pulled two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He believes in the cause.

Dr. Matt Wolf, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy now serving at Elmendorf Air Force Base, seems somewhat less certain.

He is back from a tour as an emergency-room doctor in Iraq. He spent his time trying to piece together the victims of those IEDs, and he knows the cost in lost lives and lost limbs of trying to bring peace and democracy to a troubled, Middle East country.

All the physicians in Iraq, he said, struggle to deal with the emotional fallout from the day-to-day carnage. There are life and death decisions all the time. And even though doctors today save most of the wounded, they know too, that many will never be quite the same again.

That might be the most troubling part.

On this day, though, it all seemed foreign, something happening in a faraway place and time, even if the memories haunt some of those aboard the Perseverance from time to time. For better or worse, memories arise only when there is time to consider them.

And for good parts of the day aboard the Perseverance, everyone was so busy with "fish on!" there wasn't time to think about much else -- except getting to the rail on occasion when the smooth, rolling swells of the Gulf caused a little seasickness.

Despite that, everyone welcomed the free fishing trip provided by dozens of Seward volunteers who pulled together to host the Second Annual Armed Services Combat Fishing Tournament.

The idea of Bob Candopolous, owner of Seward's Saltwater Safari, and buddy Keith Manternach, president of Specialty Truck & Auto Inc. in Anchorage, the combat fishing derby has been embraced by just about every charter operation on Resurrection Bay and garnered support from businesses outside the area.

More than 200 servicemen got free slots on more than 30 fishing boats this year, with the top derby prize a new pickup from Lithia dealerships in Anchorage, although the angler catching the big fish had the option of taking $15,000 cash instead. Secondary prizes included a four-wheel, all-terrain-vehicle and a dirt bike.

Fishing from one of Candopolous' boats, Staff Sgt. Mike Hester claimed the top prize at the end of the day with a 121.4-pound halibut.

Hester was the big winner, but there were no losers.

To a man, the servicemen invited to fish said it was good just to feel appreciated.

"It's real nice,'' said Williams, who was also enjoying a bit of a homecoming. Born in Kodiak, he grew up in Seward before enlisting in the Army before 9/11. The attack on the World Trade Center in New York changed everything for Williams.

In part because of it, Williams has spent half of his military career overseas.

"Too long away from home,'' he said. "This last (tour in Iraq) was 15 months."

His parents, who still live in Seward, worry, he confessed. But "no matter what, my family supports me 100 percent.''

Community support is similar. Williams noted that at the local American Legion hall, photos of active-duty Seward servicemen -- many of whom are in Iraq-- "go all the way up the staircase.

"This town shows more support for its troops than any place I've ever been. I'll be here this summer, and I'm definitely looking forward to that."

So is Cartwright, an Outsider who fell in love with Alaska. He bought property years ago in the Ninilchik area, and he considers his cabin there home.

"I like coming home,'' he said.

As soon as Cartwright's wounds healed enough that doctors said he was OK to drive, he got in his car and headed for the cabin.

On Thursday, hard-working deckhand Jessica Hettwer and skipper Jimmy Akana went out of their way to make sure everyone had a good time. And even though nobody caught a prize-winning fish, Akana saw to it that everyone went home with fresh halibut.

After struggling with lots of 20- to 35-pound fish, some even confessed they didn't even know if they wanted to catch anything bigger.

"Oh my goodness, this one's bigger than the last one," said Rusty Thomason, a firefighter from Elmendorf Air Force Base as he pulled up the halibut that would fill his two-fish limit. "I couldn't imagine what a 100-pound fish would be like.''

A few minutes later, Williams told Hettwer to gaff another halibut on the end of his line and flip it in the hold. Though the fish wasn't all that big, Williams, who already had half of his two-fish limit, was ready to be done with pumping and reeling fish after fish up from the depths.

"My shoulder's about smoked," he said.

He adjourned to the sitting area under the deckhouse at the stern, where others who had filled their limits were sitting and enjoying the warm day, the calm waters, the spectacular views of the rugged and snowy Alaska coast, and the sense of camaraderie.

"Having this opportunity ... ," said Staff Sgt. Ryan Veith, stumbling a bit for words. "The biggest thing about this isn't so much the fishing. It's getting to meet these guys and gals."

A dog-handler at Eielson Air Force Base outside of Fairbanks, Veith had driven down with a couple of others from Eielson for the derby. He was looking at a long drive back north.

But he wasn't thinking about the drive. He was busy collecting e-mail addresses from everyone on board so he could share digital photos of the trip with them.

It was a good time, he said, "and the fish -- my goodness.''

Outdoors editor Craig Medred can be reached at cmedred@adn.com or 257-4588.

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