Neal Crumley, Green Beret
Neal Crumley loves the small town life. He says, “Enjoying small town life is my passion. The best thing is NO traffic.”
Neal loves fishing and has been a Seadrift fishing guide for fifteen years. His grandfather and his dad used to come to Seadrift to fish since Neal was nine years old. Neal has this to say about being on the bay, “Fish, or no fish, it’s always a wonderful experience on the bay. It’s always exciting and you never know what you are going to catch.”
Coming into Seadrift, Neal has brought with him a wealth of experience in electrical work, and most notably, his time serving our Country as a Green Beret.
The Green Berets was a special operations force of the United States Army. They were not only known for their distinctive service, but also, for their distinctive headgear.
Neal had to go through eighteen months of specialized training (eighteen months, to be exact!). His tour of duty was in the country of Panama where he and other Green Berets trained soldiers in field operations. Neal specialized in demolitions.
Because of his military experience, Neal felt the need to reach out to disabled veterans. When the Combat Marines contacted Butch Hodges about helping some of these disabled veterans some thirteen years ago, Neal Crumley was one of the first persons to help kick it off.
Combat Marines is a non-profit organization that supports our wounded and disabled veterans by hosting groups with cook-offs and fishing or hunting trips. This is no small order since it involves securing housing, arranging fishing trips, planning meals, and fund raising.
Neal says, “The Combat Marines are a wonderful group of people. The people they host are always a wonderful group of guys. It’s fun to see all the pleasure they get from going on these trips. They have a good time.”
Thank you, Neal! And thank you, Combat Marines, and everyone in our area who reach out to our country’s veterans! We salute and honor you!
You can find out more about Combat Marines by going to
Neil Crumley
