Always a fighter, Ray Hargroves strained to move his wheelchair deep into the forest. He wanted to hunt with his grandson, Kyle Hargroves, before Kyle left for bootcamp with the U.S. Marines. But, he wouldn’t let Kyle push him.
Hargroves had been a Marine himself. It was his service in the military that planted him in a wheelchair. With the bottom half of both legs gone, Hargroves adapted to a new way of mobility.
The wheelchair never stopped him from the hobby he loved. But, now that he was older, it was harder for him to get himself one-and-one-half miles into the woods.
“It took me 30 minutes to get my breath back,” Hargroves says about the trip.
After the experience, Hargroves began looking into different alternatives for an all-terrain chair. The VA gave him a model, but it would get stuck in his front-yard grass.
Then, Hargroves bought a four-wheel, side-by-side cart. It worked but couldn’t maneuver in tight spaces or between trees.
One day, a church member asked him if he’d seen the Action Trackchair on the Bill O’Reilly Show.
Tuning in, Hargroves found out he could get the trackchair for free as a disabled vet. He applied for it through The Independence Fund.
The wheelchair is no ordinary chair and more closely resembles a tank. The camouflage seat is equipped with directional controls. Thick tires can take Hargroves over any terrain.
Although Hargroves received his chair less than two weeks ago, the veteran already knows how to work all its bells and whistles.
“It hit me,” Hargroves says. “The vets need to know about this. There’s so many vets here that would start to hunt and fish if they had one.”
ACTION TRACKCHAIR
The Action Trackchair, made by Georgia Action Mobility Equipment, is meant for outdoor use for activities such as hunting and fishing. The price of all-terrain mobility — $15,000 — is beyond many veterans’ budgets.
Since 2007, The Independence Fund has offered services and equipment to help veterans. This includes different types of wheelchairs that range from $15,000 to $30,000.
In 2012, the organization added the Action Trackchair to its list of chairs.
“For the Trackchair, it was completely coincidental,” founder Steve Danyluk says.
In 2012, Sgt. John Peck was attending an Independent Fund event with his mother. The disabled veteran had just finished telling Danyluk about a unique, all-terrain chair he wanted. Peck was moving to a new piece of property in Virginia. The chair, an Action Trackchair, would help give him the freedom to get around outside his home. The chair model costs $12,000 and up.
When the Forgotten Sons Motorcycle Club presented The Independent Fund with a $12,000 check, Danyluk knew what to do with the it.
“Once you get one, you get stuck,” Danyluk says.
At first, the chairs were only available for veterans from 9/11 and on. Hargroves couldn’t apply. He had been a veteran of the Vietnam War.
“That made me mad, because I know a lot of vets who would love this chair,” Hargroves says. “How can you distinguish between a wounded warrior?”
Hargroves wasn’t alone in his thinking. Others advocated for all veterans to be able to apply. The offer was changed.
“This helps the older vets that never got all the support vets do now,” an Independent Fund volunteer, Vicky Ray, says.
AMERICAN HERO
Ray Hargroves had grown up fishing and hunting in the wilderness of Central Florida. But in the late 1960s, he found himself in a very different wilderness.
Hargroves and his unit trumped through the rice paddies of South Vietnam. Working swiftly, they set up a circular perimeter to protect themselves for the long night ahead.
It was quiet.
Hargroves ate his supper.
An anti-tank man, Hargroves was every Americana depiction of a valiant G.I. Joe. He carried a rocket launcher, stuck close to the captain he was sworn to protect.
When the captain asked him to sit in the machine gun position, Hargroves slung his rocket launcher over his shoulder.
Then, he stepped to grab two rockets.
One more step.
Boom.
Glittering shrapnel radiated from beneath his feet. Like daggers, they shot into the captain and a corpsman, radioman and two grunts standing nearby. They were killed instantly.
But Hargroves lay bleeding. The rest was a blur. He was helicoptered to the hospital. Hargroves returned home with a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart — but no legs.
“I was very lucky,” Hargroves says. “I married my high school sweetheart and had a wonderful life.”
The new chair makes life a little more enjoyable for Hargroves.
The chair came with a trailer and tool box. Hargroves will be able to attach a gun rack and cooler.
“I’m going to have everything there that I need,” Hargroves says. “It’s going to make it to where I can enjoy hunting and fishing. It’s going to make it a lot easier for me, which will make it more fun.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
ACTION TRACKCHAIR
For more information about the Action Trackchair, an application for a wheelchair or The Independence Fund, contact the fund:
WEBSITE: independencefund.org
PHONE: Steve Danyluk, (401) 824-6787
EMAIL: independencefund@gmail.com
HOW TO HELP
Donations to The Independence Fund can be made to 32379 Collection Center Drive, Chicago, IL. 60693-0323.