FISHERTOWN, Pa. – Wesley Young wears a black bracelet on his left wrist that reads “Never Forgotten” with the name “Brady A. Jackson” and the dates “March 13, 1985 – Jan 12, 2021.”

It’s a reminder of a close friend, veteran and avid hunter who died by suicide in Alaska around the anniversary of surviving an explosion while deployed overseas.

His death became the motivation for Young to expand his Band of Heroes Outdoors business. The nonprofit organization, based in Fishertown, Bedford County, takes veterans struggling with physical and mental health issues on free hunting and other types of trips. The mission is to introduce them to a therapeutic natural environment where they can spend time together with other hunters and veterans.

Jackson, an Army veteran, had taken Young on a bear hunt in Maine years earlier.

“He was happy, always laughing and joking,” Young, who served in the Army Reserve, said during an interview earlier this month at the Band of Heroes Outdoors office.

“You would never expect it.

“Every time his girlfriend would call me and say, ‘Brady died. He killed himself. It just hurt a little. It kind of hurt you to the core. I can’t believe this actually happened.

“After he died, I said either I can use his death and be destructive, or I can use his death and turn it into something positive and bless other people who may be hurting and struggling themselves.”

Young sees hunting trips as helpful, but participants don’t view them in the same way as formal therapy.

“Veterans are really proud people,” he said. “In themselves, they don’t want help. But when I get a group together around a campfire or we laugh and joke together and maybe talk about some of our stories, then they will kind of understand that “Band of Heroes Outdoors is trying to change my life.” They don’t try to shove pills down my throat or anything else. Maybe I just need to get out for some fresh air.

“Sometimes you just need to ground yourself and just sit under a tree or go out and grab a little folding chair and a fishing pole and go fishing.”

Band of Heroes Outdoors was informally formed in 2020.

Young used $600 of his personal money to sell T-shirts and raise money to take a disabled veteran on an all-expenses-paid hog and sheep hunt. He was joined by friend Dakota McClucas, who is now the organization’s executive director.

The hunt was described on the nonprofit website bandofheroesoutdoors.org: “The trip was a huge success and achieved exactly what Wes wanted: fun and relaxation. Wes and Dakota did not know the veteran at all prior to this experience, and yet they left with an incredible journey and lasting friendships that left everyone feeling grateful for the experience.”

The following year, an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization was established.

Since then, between 120 and 140 veterans have gone on trips, mostly hunting, but also to Pittsburgh Steelers and Penn State University football games and on deep-sea fishing trips.

The feedback has been “phenomenal,” Young said.

“Veterans expressed that they couldn’t put into words the friendships they made, the laughs they had and how rewarding it was to get away from their everyday lives for a few days, feeling honored and pampered by serving our country,” according to a story posted on the website .

Hunting took place as close to Windber as it did to several other states, including Nebraska and Missouri. A trip to Africa is planned.

Veterans apply for a spot on one of the hunts and are selected in a live random drawing.

“We are fair and want to give everyone a chance,” Young said.

Tours are video recorded.

“Even if they don’t kill an animal — hunting and fishing is not about harvesting anything, it’s just about being together with another group of people — that they can go back to their YouTube channel and watch a video,” Young said.

Over the past few years, the Band of Heroes Outdoors support network has also grown.

Earlier this month, the group held a sports raffle at the Bedford County Fairgrounds. It included food, drinks and small games of chance. Young doesn’t have official numbers yet, but the event raised thousands of dollars for the organization.

“We’re trying to do something to give back to all the blue-collar workers and just those who support us,” Young said.