An Army combat veteran had a life-changing experience when he encountered a moose in the Wyoming wilderness. Although it was a close call that could have been bad, the vet took nothing but positivity and inspiration from the experience.
Speaking with Cowboy State Daily, Purple Heart recipient Hank Ward described hunting in Wyoming. Although he is a Georgia native, he was able to go on a hunt in the state thanks to an organization called Vets 4 Huntn & Fishn. That group sponsored his first elk hunting trip in the great state. But the combat vet ended up coming across something much larger while out in the wilderness.
Moose Encounters Hunter In Wild
He saw a young bull moose. The animal got so close to him that it almost stepped on the hunter. Thankfully, the animal never even noticed that Ward was there. That year saw early snowstorms, which pushed the elk to lower elevation. So sadly Ward didn't get to bag an elk. But he did get to see a moose up close and personal.
"I could hear him coming through the woods. He came through woods just slapping everything. When he walked down the trail in front of me, he was probably only five feet away," Ward said. He described the experience as nothing short of amazing and awe-inspiring.
"I don't think most people realize just how big of an animal they really are," Ward said.
Ward's moose encounter makes him want to come back to Wyoming and finally get a chance at bagging that elk. It's been a rough few years for the combat veteran. In 2007, he left the Army after surviving an attack that left him injured from shrapnel. More recently, he contracted leukemia from radiation exposure in Iraq.
His cancer is currently in remission. But it's been a long battle. Fortunately, moments like the moose encounter have raised his spirits.
"The country out there is just absolutely stunning. It can't be compared to anything else in the United States," Ward said. "I can show my wife pictures of it all day long, but pictures don't do it justice."
