93-year-old WWII Vet Bags Deer on Veterans Day
OutdoorHub Reporters 11.24.14
You are only as old as you feel—that is the philosophy of Bruno Delai. The 93-year-old resident of Herrin, Illinois recently bagged a doe on November 11, and Delai is as avid a hunter as you will likely meet. According to KFVS12, the World War II veteran has hunted every year since 1957, although his weapon of choice recently switched to a crossbow.
“I don’t feel old really, I don’t hurt,” Delai said. “You know, I feel good, I go.”
This year’s deer was the first that the hunter was able to successfully harvest in three years, and it is an especially poignant one for Delai, who had feared that the deer he bagged in 2011 would be his last.
“I said, ‘Here I am 93. I would like to kill one more deer. I would like to kill a deer before I go,'” he told The Southern.
Delai found out that the lease on his usual hunting grounds had been sold shortly after harvesting his last deer, and spent the last few years searching for new places to set up his blind. The elderly hunter may not be as mobile as he once was, but with the help of friends and a walker, Delai has little trouble getting into the woods. Finding a deer, however, was the problem. That changed two weeks ago while hunting on a friend’s property in Stiritz.
Taking the doe on Veterans Day was the icing on the cake, but the day held special importance for Delai. November 11 marked both the anniversary of his marriage and the death of his beloved wife six years ago. After serving with distinction during the Second World War, the silver star recipient returned home to marry his wife on November 11, 1945. The two raised four children in Herrin, and although he now lives alone, Delai enjoys the occasional company of more than a dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The veteran did not mention whether there was any great secret to his longevity and good health, although he mentioned that healthy genes and living well may have had something to do with it.
And of course, Delai still intends to go hunting next year.
“I like to go, and if nothing happens next year I’ll have a good place to go. I got to go as long as my health is good,” Delai told The Southern.
You can see an interview with Delai below.
