9/11 Youth Victims Enjoy Hunting Opportunity

Andrew and Michael Esposito, Jr. had never hunted whitetail deer in their lives. The New York City natives, ages 17 and 14 respectively, spend their days in the pollution, hustle and bustle and loud noises of a major city. But because of a lot of hard work and generosity from across this country, the boys now know firsthand the joy of quiet, patience, nature — and whitetails.

Joe Humphrey, owner of Beaver Creek Ranch in Missouri, donated the hunt because the boys had lost their father in the 9/11 tragedy. Humphrey got the idea from Ed Spall after Spall had hunted at Humphrey’s ranch. A Staten Island native, Spall has a brother who is a New York City fire fighter and a father who is a retired fire fighter. He wanted to do something for the kids who lost their fathers in the 9/11 attack. Humphrey agreed.

“Ed wanted to put something together,” Humphrey said. “He wanted to do something for the kids. I was interested because I like to see kids introduced to the sport. Ed got it all going and started talking to Steve Scott, vice president of the Whitetail Institute of North America. The Whitetail Institute stepped up and helped bring it all together for us. We were lucky to get it all together.”

“It was a brainstorm that I had,” Spall said. “After I brought it to Joe, he said it was a dynamite idea. Then Steve said he’d like to get involved. And from there, it took off.”

“We at the Institute just wanted to use our industry connections to help two young men get introduced to the sport of hunting,” Scott said. “It is only a small measure, but it’s the least we could do to help those who suffered the greatest losses in the 9/11 tragedy.”

Humphrey graciously offered to donate two management hunts of antlerless deer on his ranch. Wade Atchley of the Whitetail Institute spoke with manufacturers like Skyline Camouflage and Nikon optics to make sure the boys would have the necessary gear for a fun, successful hunt. Spahl was in charge of getting the boys to Missouri.

“They’d never hunted before, and they were so pumped,” Spahl said. “We had a fantastic hunt. I don’t know if anybody could have enjoyed this more than I did. You can’t imagine how many people came together for this trip. The whole thing has restored my faith in America. We’ve had a really difficult couple of years. I can’t tell you how many friends I lost in the Trade Center disaster. I lost people I sat next to in high school, played basketball with, customers, personal friends — so many good people.”

Spall’s passion, Humphrey’s generosity, and Scott’s vision and commitment made the idea reality when Michael, Andrew and their uncle Sal, arrived in camp. The next several days of preparing to hunt, sitting on stand and telling stories around the campfire gave the boys an opportunity they never thought they’d have. It also taught them that hunting is more than just stepping into a stand and pulling the trigger. After several days of hunting, Michael shot a doe. Brad Eddington also stepped up and mounted Michael’s deer free of charge. Andrew didn’t get his deer, but did get the opportunity to try to harvest an animal.

“I was very excited. I really wanted to hunt because I never went on a real hunting trip,” Michael said. “I learned that hunting is mental and physical, and it’s not as easy as it seems. You have to wait for hours and hours and sometimes days. You have to have patience to hunt deer. I recommend the sport. It’s a great sport. I thank everyone that put this together.”

Michael’s older brother, Andrew, agreed that this hunting game isn’t as easy as he thought.

“I definitely thought it would be easier,” Andrew said. “I didn’t know it took so much patience. It’s not like you’re walking through the forest, you see one and say, ‘Let’s go get them.’ They’re a lot smarter than I thought. They adapt. They are not stupid. I really enjoyed making some great new friendships.”

The hunt also gave Sal, the boys’ uncle, a chance to share a special experience with his nephews.

“We were always close, but this hunt cemented our relationship even more,” Sal said. “My brother was a hunter, and I wanted to pass this tradition on to his boys. Hunting with my brother wasn’t always about shooting deer. It was about sharing nature with friends and relatives. That was the main thing I wanted to bring to the boys. It isn’t just about the hunting — it’s also about the bonding.”

Denise Esposito, the boys’ mother, said she wanted to thank Humphrey, Spahl, the Whitetail Institute and the Missouri community that helped give her boys a chance to get back to nature.

“It was a positive experience for my sons to have some camaraderie with other men, which is something they need,” she said. “They had a wonderful, wonderful time. My sons grew up in the city and didn’t realize there was so much land out there. They just fell in love with Missouri. The state was clean, the people were friendly, and they were just wonderful to my boys.”

While Humphrey, Spahl and Scott’s actions introduced two boys to hunting whitetails, it also provided a family a chance to share great experiences, and in some small way, heal wounds. Uncle Sal said that every time he thinks about the hunt, he gets emotional. And every time he sees or speaks to his nephews, he thinks of his hero, Michael Sr.

“Everything about them reminds me of their father – their emotions, the way they laugh and the way they joke,” Sal said. “My brother was my idol. There wasn’t anything that he couldn’t do, but through it all, he was just so humble. I’ve been hearing about his accomplishments on the job as the years have gone by, about him saving people and fighting fires. All the guys at the fire department talk about him with such reverence like he invented fire fighting. He always had a smile on his face. He was always teaching. Everybody felt at peace around him. That was the kind of man he was.”

Denise expressed another reason she was so appreciative of the opportunity for her sons.

“I can feed them, give them emotional support, teach them the values and morals I know, but boys need male role models,” she said. “I’m blessed. The human spirit never ceases to amaze me. Out of every bad comes good. My boys are a lot stronger because of 9/11. I hope that we give back as much as we get. They are good boys. My husband would be very proud of them.”