Bringing veterans together

Jacob Wiegand

Saturday, March 21, 2020

For Bill Coomer aka “Wild Bill,” AM Vets Outdoors is about getting veterans together. Coomer of Cape Girardeau is the founder of the organization which takes veterans on hunting and fishing trips. On March 14, the Air Force veteran accompanied other veterans while hunting for snow geese in Ware, Illinois. “The whole premise of this is for vets to be introduced to other vets that way they can become friends with at least one of them,” Coomer said. “That way where later on, if they have depression or thoughts of suicide or whatever, at least they have somebody to talk to.”

From left: Army veteran Paul Jubinville; Garrett Metje, originally of Cape Girardeau, and now Scott City, Missouri; and active duty Air Force member David Fritz gather around a phone during a snow geese hunt with AM Vets Outdoors on Saturday, March 14, 2020, in Ware, Illinois. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Garrett Metje, originally of Cape Girardeau, and now Scott City, Missouri, gets a blind ready for a snow geese hunt Saturday, March 14, 2020, in Ware, Illinois. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Active duty Air Force member Andrew Shanahorn hands a gun to Garrett Metje near active duty Air Force member David Fritz, right, and Army veteran Paul Jubinville, left, during a snow geese hunt Saturday, March 14, 2020, in Ware, Illinois. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
AM Vets Outdoors founder and Air Force veteran Bill Coomer, aka "Wild Bill," of Cape Girardeau looks out of a blind during a snow geese hunt Saturday, March 14, 2020, in Ware, Illinois. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)

From right: AM Vets Outdoors founder and Air Force veteran Bill Coomer, active duty Air Force member David Fritz, active duty Air Force member Andrew Shanahorn and Army veteran Paul Jubinville spend time together during a snow geese hunt with AM Vets Outdoors on Saturday, March 14, 2020, in Ware, Illinois. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Active duty Air Force member Andrew Shanahorn, left, converses with Army veteran Paul Jubinville, facing Shanahorn, during a snow geese hunt Saturday, March 14, 2020, in Ware, Illinois. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Active duty Air Force member Andrew Shanahorn, originally of Columbus, Ohio, and now at Scott Air Force Base, signs a decoy featuring the names of other veterans during a snow geese hunt with AM Vets Outdoors on Saturday, March 14, 2020, in Ware, Illinois. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)
Active duty Air Force member Andrew Shanahorn, originally of Columbus, Ohio, and now at Scott Air Force Base, has a smoke during a snow geese hunt Saturday, March 14, 2020, in Ware, Illinois. (Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian)