Surfing gives vets chance to bond, relax
Event on Memorial Day draws many to the water
CAPITOLA >> Their years of service may be completed, but for many veterans the war is far from over.
William Condon, still wearing a white T-shirt stretched over his wetsuit to signify his beginner surfer status, emerged from the waves with a grin at a Capitola beach crowded with holiday visitors Monday afternoon.
Behind Condon, a ring of fellow surfers and veterans had loosened from its tight circle, a few floating flower petals still visible as the group — taking part in the Veteran Surf Alliance‘s Memorial Day Paddleout — completed its ceremonial remembrance. A handful of participants, such as Condon, counted Monday as the first or one of the first times they had attempted to surf. Others were long-time members of the Veteran Surfing Alliance, community supporters and volunteers.
Also attending Monday was alliance member Rob Lackey, who lost his Boulder Creek home in the CZU August Lightning Complex
fire and spent 14 years as an Army paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division.
“Some of the best stories, some of the best releases, take place out in the water because it is a safe environment. You’re in your own little group, you’re able to share things out there and it’s awesome, it’s absolutely amazing, the feelings when you’re out there that you have,” Lackey said of the organization. “Between the emotion of riding and being with your brothers and people who have shared the same experiences, gone through some of the same stuff you have — that’s a big thing. You’re able to release.”
Veteran Surf Alliance initially was a regular surf gettogether among veterans co-founded four years ago by Sean Meyer, of Scotts Valley, after he took part in the weeklong trauma-recovery Operation Surf program. It has since blossomed into a peer-led supportive nonprofit organization open to all veterans, with chapters in Santa Cruz, Pacifica and Pismo Beach.
The local organization re-emerged this week with its first formal event since the coronavirus pandemic, but in 2020, its organizers were able to maintain a strong network of support during a time of isolation and fear for former service members and civilians alike, said Meyer, who worked as an Army combat engineer and Airborne medic before receiving a medical discharge.
“We were still able to continue our mission during COVID. We actually added a number of different surf meets during COVID, specifically,” he said. “It was a risk and we had to have a larger conversation about safety and about health. But surfing, we can already socially distance with surfing. You’re outside, so you’re in the sun, you’re in nature, fresh air and you’re in an environment where you can get separation.”
Meyer appreciates the opportunity to participate because of recent difficulties.
“In the past year, I’ve lost two personal, personal friends to their own hand. It’s not new, it’s been ongoing, but I know from my own experience and my own health recovery postservice that being outside, being in nature and being around people that genuinely have your best interests in mind, and eliminating the toxic substances, too, it’s huge,” he said. “Speaking from experience, it has really helped to live a positive life. And that’s what we’re trying to share,” he added.
Daring to stand up on a surfboard for Condon, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Sacramento resident, took an extra act of courage on a day already heavy with meaning. Though he had past experience as a bodyboarder, Condon said he had waited 15 years — since he had left the service working as a motor corps truck driver — to once again ride the waves.
“I struggled with this day for a long time. I lost buddies over there. Even though I know what we all signed up for, we knew what was possible, what could happen, you just never expect it to happen,” Condon said.
“I get frustrated at how big they make Memorial Day with all the savings and the discounts. But then there’s a portion of us that, this day means something completely different for us. I’ve had to learn to accept that we made it here and not only do we have to be here for ourselves, but we have to be here for our brothers that we lost. Now we have to live their legacy,” he said.