After serving in the Air Force for 28 years and raising six kids, Sunset Hills resident Dan Ortwerth finally had the free time to try something new: skating.

“I did not play hockey growing up or anything like that. It was something that I always admired and hoped to do someday, but I was too busy serving a military career and raising six children,” Ortwerth said. “I finally reached a point in my 50s at which I had the time and the spare energy to do something I’d always wanted to do.”

He started by taking lessons with figure skaters, learning for four years before “ever setting foot on a rink as a hockey player.” Ortwerth then joined a recreational hockey team, where he one day saw a friend he used to serve with, not knowing that this meeting would change his life for the better.

“She and I got to talking, and she told me about the Warriors and explained to me that it was a great way for us to blend something we love to do: play hockey with people that we love to be with, our fellow veterans, and that together we have opportunities to do all of these volunteer activities to give back to the community while helping each other and having a blast on the rink,” Ortwerth said.

For veterans, a connection with those who have shared service experience is vital. St. Louis Blues Warriors, a local non-profit hockey league, provides this.

“The hardest part of transitioning out of military service isn’t just hanging up the uniform — it’s losing the brotherhood that came with it. Those relationships are built on trust, sacrifice and a sense of purpose. When that chapter closed for me, I found myself searching for something that could fill that void,” Thomas Parr, South County local and St. Louis Blues Warrior Hockey player, said. “From the moment I stepped into the locker room, I felt that spark again.”

Ortweth, who is in his “first real post-retirement job,” added that though he enjoys his new firm and new co-workers, it can be hard on days meaningful to veterans.

“Some of these days come up that are significant to me — and it’s not their fault, they just don’t have the shared experience — but it means nothing to them. When I get together with a veterans organization like the Warriors, it’s like I’ve come home to my family,” he said. “Just being together with the gang and people who understand me — that’s priceless.” 

Since joining St. Louis Blues Warriors, Ortwerth and Parr have not only made countless memories on the ice but have also given back to the community through the organization’s volunteer work.

“We’ll assemble care packages that get sent to troops overseas. We’ve been there, so we know what we need, (including) that sense that somebody back home remembers you. Typically, we’ll do this with youth hockey teams, who maybe don’t have any experience with veterans and how to help those of us who are overseas,” Ortwerth said. “Helping is healing. Anytime you help somebody else, it comes back to you, and it does something good for you on the inside.” 

The community service aspect is an integral part of the organization. Players, who range in age from early 20s to late 60s, are required to volunteer at least four times a year to remain in good standing.

As the organization is a non-profit, it relies on annual membership fees and fundraising to purchase ice time, which costs several hundred dollars per hour, for games and practice, though it would “love a future where that wasn’t necessary.” To donate, visit www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-to-make-a-difference-for-veterans-in-st-louis.

“Blues Warrior Hockey has been a lifeline for my mental health. Competing with people who just get it — it’s therapy. It gives me a way to channel stress, stay grounded and reconnect with something bigger than myself. Hockey might seem like a game to some, but for many of us, it’s a form of healing,” Parr said