Operation Surf Santa Cruz Mission Accomplished

You could call it surf therapy. That's what it was for the pro surfers and the amputees they were surfing with for most of last week.

There were 15 combat veterans who had suffered the worst of war and who wanted to do something that some might think was impossible: Ride the waves on a board that challenges even those with all their limbs.

As Van Curaza tells it, these pairings of surfer and veteran started in Pismo Beach with a wounded solider named Derek, who was on his tour in Iraq when the unthinkable became reality. He lost his leg.  

A lifelong surfer, he desired to once again paddle out and catch some waves.

Janis Roznowski and Operation Comfort, an organization that helps vets live their dreams, said that if he found someone to take him surfing. they would make it happen. Thus was born a new institution. He reached out and found Rodney Roller in Pismo Beach, an amputee surfer willing to do just that. Roller is a national amputee surf champion who started a nonprofit called Amazing Surf Adventures.

Five years later, Rodney Roller's vision found a home in Santa Cruz, as well as in Pismo.

Driven by hospitality and volunteers (Dream Inn provided accommodations for free), Van Curaza, from Pismo, Santa Cruz surf school owner Richard Schmidt and a bevy of local pro surfers, grateful citizens and past military brethren,  spent a week with injured soldiers in Santa Cruz in what the group calls “surf therapy.”

After talking with a few of the boys, it’s apparent that this therapy was not restricted to just the soldiers.

I ask Josh Loya, pro surfer and Mavericks charger, what motivated him to get involved.

“I have been pretty blessed to surf for a living for 20-odd years” he pauses. “I guess mostly because of who the guys are and what they have done and gone through.”

 We talk a bit more about these soldiers’ day-to-day lives and he continues.

“It's puzzling how distant we are from what is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, living your life, you forget what is happening over there, and maybe you see the news but you’re not aware of it.”

Van Curaza of AmazingSurfAdventures.org states it clearly.

“The guys are out here in Santa Cruz surfing for the first time. We don't have to talk them into going back out in the water. They know this might be the only time in their life they get to surf.”

When asked about Operation Surf Santa Cruz he continues:

“Everyone is motivated to make this thing go where it needs to go. The program is falling in front of itself naturally; things are happening and creating its own momentum.”

I speak to a couple of the locals who helped out and resoundingly I hear, “It's awe-inspiring to see how much Richard Schmidt has given of his time, resources and talent to show respect and appreciation to these soldiers”

I make my way to Cowell Beach to see the guys surf, they are all in a circle chanting and splashing, a tried-and-true celebration for surfers when a monumental event has taken place.

I get there just as the first session is getting out of the water.

Shawn “Barney” Barron and Darryl “Flea” Virostko come walking behind a couple of amputee soldiers who are up the beach. I can see the impact in both of their faces.

“These guys are amazing, total hardcore guys that have no fear, they just go for it” Flea says.

Says Barney, "It is the least we can do for all they have done for us. I am honored to be able to take them surfing and would do it again in an instant." 

As we sit there watching the rest of the soldiers collect themselves, the energy in the air made me realize that surfers and these soldiers share a lot in common. Once you are a true surfer you will always be a surfer. The same holds true for a soldier. You never leave a man behind.

I am certain many lives changed this week. Santa Cruz has blessed these soldiers and surfers equally with its magical grip, and I am proud to say I know the crew that showed so much respect and appreciation to these honored guests.

Everyone I spoke with immediately supported the planning of the next Operation Surf Santa Cruz.

Van Curaza made it very clear that Amazing Surf Adventures will do more Operation Surf at different times of the year at different locations. The Activity Duty Recreational Rehabilitation program, which helps soldiers overcome their challenges through surfing is their focus. He hopes to take the organization international.

What an amazing opportunity to give back to the soldiers who have given so much of themselves to defend our freedoms. You may not support the efforts we are involved with as a country, but you must support, appreciate and thank a soldier.

Please visit these websites:

Operation Surf Santa Cruz , AmazingSurfAdventures.org , Richard Schmidt Surf School and Operation Comfort