'Surfing heals all wounds': Wounded Warriors hit surf at Hampton's North Beach

HAMPTON — As he laid down on his stomach on a surfboard, Air Force veteran James Griffin paddled his arms to get enough momentum to ride the waves.

Choppy water defeated his first and second attempts. But on his third try, Griffin managed to stand up and surfed his way to shore. He dragged his yellow surfboard back into the ocean, hoping to catch the next wave.

“It was great,” he said. “I had a good time.”

Griffin was one of a number of veterans who came out Friday for the American Legion Post 35’s Hit The Beach.

The annual event pairs local volunteers with veterans and their families for a day of surfing. Participating organizations included Wounded Warrior Project, New England Disabled Sports as well as Manchester VA.

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Ralph Fatello, who served in the Marines, founded the event in 2008. He said organizers picked surfing over other activities like kayaking or skiing because “surfing saved his life.”

“When I came back from Vietnam, I was a mess,” he said. “If it wasn’t for surfing, we wouldn’t be talking right now. I was in a very bad place and surfing helped me.”

Fatello spent more than half of his life surfing, and at 71, the veteran said he still catches the waves whenever he gets the chance. His mantra is “surfing heals all wounds.”

Lin Schott, a former nurse for the Navy, hopped on the surfboard with the help of her two granddaughters, Caroline and Colleen. As she bellyboarded to shore, family members and her friend Helen helped her get on her feet.

“This is my third year (attending this event),” she said. “I can’t wait for next year.”

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Schott said she served at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina before being sent to Vietnam to work in intensive care.

“We took care of fellow Marines and Navy who were wounded during the Vietnam (War),” she recalled. “The average age (of the patients) is 20 years and nine months. One of three of my patients that were discharged, died – it’s very intensive.”

When David Taylor, an Army veteran, attended the event three years ago, he was only interested in learning how to surf. But little did he know, his life was about to change – in a Nicholas Sparks novel kind of way.

Taylor and his partner Meagan Moran met at the event in 2019. A date at Wally’s Pub turned into a relationship in November that year. Just recently, the two welcomed their 5-month-old baby, Shawn.

He and Moran returned this year to volunteer.

Kevin Grondin and Lenny Nichols, the two other pioneers of “Hit The Beach,” said this event is all about “giving back.”

“They served our country, and they got blown up – injuries, permanent loss of limbs and some could have brain trauma,” said Nichols. “The goal is to give back and hope they all have a good time.”

The two surfers, with a combined surfing experience of 112 years, said they enjoy seeing the smiles on veterans' faces when they ride a wave.

“(Surfing) is thrilling and its fun, (these veterans) are having a blast,” said Grondin. “The question is who’s having more fun?” he joked.

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Cinnamon Rainbows, Pioneers, Zapstix, and Summer Sessions provided instructors and all the equipment for the event including surfboards and wetsuits.

“We have groups of (instructors) and within each group there’s a really knowledgeable ‘waterman’ or ‘waterwoman,’ and we adjust how drastic the situation is,” Grondin said. “Everyone has a different disability, so we have to understand… we matched them up with instructors that have the experience.”

Fatello said the event has grown since the first one held in 2008 with six veterans. On Friday, there were more than 40.

“I hope that everyone that participates in this goes home with a smile on their face, and they think about how much fun it was and how the ocean is really a healing agent,” said Fatello.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Wounded Warrior Project surfing event at New Hampshire beach a success