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View Full Version : Marine's death in Iraq leads to new legislation and a boy's dream fulfilled



thedrifter
10-11-06, 06:22 AM
Posted October 11, 2006

Marine's death in Iraq leads to new legislation and a boy's dream fulfilled
By Troy Laack
Sheboygan Press staff

It was a moment in the woods of northern Wisconsin that made a group of grown men cry.

The men, clad in camouflage and hunting boots, helped Tyson Helton, a 14-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, shoot a bear in the memory of a Plymouth Marine corporal killed in Iraq.

"We wanted to get that kid a bear so bad," said Bill Prening Sr., 49, of Plymouth, the father of Cpl. Brian Prening. "It helped us heal a little bit. It made something good out of something bad."

The Prening family pushed for legislation, signed into law by Gov. Jim Doyle in January, allowing Wisconsin hunters who meet an untimely death to transfer accumulated preference points toward a hunting license to a child chosen by the dead hunter's family.

The law was named for Brian Prening, 24, an ardent hunter who was killed by enemy fire Nov. 12, 2004, in Yusufiyah, Iraq, trying to help a fellow Marine with a jammed weapon during a firefight. Brian Prening served with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment of the Marine Corps Reserve in Milwaukee.

Brian's preference points were transferred to Tyson, who lives in Junction City. Bill Prening Sr., and Bill Prening Jr., of Sheboygan Falls, Brian's twin brother, helped Tyson get his wish to go on a two-day bear hunt last month near Gleason, in Lincoln County.

During the hunt, Tyson used a .243-caliber rifle to bring down a 250-pound black bear with a single shot.

"To see the smile on his face after he got him, it was worth it," said Bill Prening Jr., 26. "Hopefully, the smile will keep coming on other people's faces who use the bill."

The group tracked a bear that weighed more than 400 pounds for 12 hours Sept. 16, but were unable to get Tyson in a position to shoot the animal. The next day, they were able to corner the smaller bear up a tree, Tyson said.

"It was a dream to be able to go on a bear hunt and see what it's all about," Tyson said. "It was really something to see those guys have a heart for a kid like me."

The state Department of Natural Resources gives hunters a preference point each year they apply for a license. Brian Prening had accumulated eight of nine points he needed to get a permit. The Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association assisted the Prening family in getting the law passed, Bill Prening Sr. said.

The Prenings were able to take Tyson on the hunt with the assistance of the Kippenberg Creek Kids lodge in Gleason, a nonprofit organization established to help terminally ill and handicapped children fulfill their wish to go on outdoor adventures, said founder Larry Breyer.

"It was probably one of the most emotional hunts I've ever been on," said Breyer, 49, of Gleason.

Tyson rested the gun on Bill Prening Jr.'s shoulder to take the shot and Breyer made the moment more touching after the bear was on the ground, Bill Prening Sr. said.

"He (Breyer) comes up to me and goes, 'We named the bear Brian after your son,'" Bill Prening Sr. said. "He's got tears in his eyes and I've got tears in my eyes because it was emotional."

Tyson said the hunt was physically demanding on him because he was bounced around as the men carried him, sometimes running with him over their shoulders to catch up with the bears.

Joe Hopfensperger, Tyson's stepfather, also was on the hunt.

"When you find out how the bear tag came about, it was very, very emotional," Hopfensperger said. "I'm very happy for Tyson. I want as many people to know about this as I can and that they know about Kippenberg Creek and the great things that they do for so many kids throughout the United States."

Janet Hopfensperger, Tyson's mother, said the cerebral palsy affects both of her son's legs and his left arm.

"He likes to hunt and do things like that, but he's pretty much not mobile," Janet Hopfensperger said. "So, being able to have an opportunity like this, to have all these great men come together and help him make this dream come true to go bear hunting was a really big thing for him."

Reach Troy Laack at tlaack@sheboygan-press.com and 453-5133.

Ellie