A 65-Year Dream: Vietnam Veteran Finally Gets His First Custom Surfboard

When a society prioritizes wealth above all else it becomes irredeemable, it has no real value. The good news is that wealth is limited to 1% of the population and there are plenty of remarkable stories of human grace, kindness, and strength amongst the rest of the population. 

This is one such story involving a surfboard shaper, Dave Yearwood, and a Navy veteran and unknown American icon, Dennis Eugene Fells Jr. I originally saw this posted on Yearwood’s Instagram account and it was a rare spot of gold in a sea of heavy metals.

“I’m super grateful for anyone who buys a surfboard and this one was super special. See Dennis was married at 15 years old and shortly after welcomed his first child. At 18, he was off to war in Vietnam. To put it simply, he is one of those guys who puts everyone else first.”

The two met spontaneously at a brewery that hosts a shaping studio in Wilmington, North Carolina, known as Savard Beer & Board. Yearwood, who is based in San Diego, was out in NC for a shaping residency when Dennis and friends came by the brewery. 

It was through the looking glass that he noticed he had two observers, a fairly common occurrence at Savard’s where the shaping bay sits at the back of the brewery just beyond the bar. Many people often walk over to have a look but something about them felt different. 

Yearwood said, “I just had this feeling, an intuition really, to connect with them so I walked out of the bay with purpose and introduced myself. Dennis had a big smile on his face and said, in his ol’ raspy voice, ‘I’m stoked to be here man’. Naturally, I invited them into the bay and they happily followed.” 

In the bay was his 6’9 fish made by none other than Skip Frye, who was instrumental in the beginning of his shaping journey, and Dennis had eyes for it and asked, “Can I buy that one?”

“Nope, but I can shape you one just like it. Skip taught me how to shape and I’d be happy to make you one.” 

Dennis didn’t hesitate to pull out his wallet and hand him multiple hundred dollar bills to which Yearwood said, “Slow down for a sec, what do you want me to make?”

“I want something just like that but I won’t be able to surf it because of my injuries.”

It was then that Yearwood really leaned into the moment to get to know Dennis, “Did you serve our country?”

“Yes I did,” he said as he rolled up his sleeves to show him his tattoos from his years in the Navy. After talking for awhile longer, the new surfboard stoke filled the air and the synchronicity of their meeting was beginning to really unfold. As Dennis walked out of the shaping bay with his brother, their crowd of friends at the bar erupted into cheers! 

Before they parted ways, Dennis told him, “No rush. No timeline. Do what you gotta do.” Yearwood just met what felt like the best customer ever, they gave each other a huge hug and promised to continue the conversation by phone. 

Every time they would talk, new details would emerge that he incorporated into the board: “He is a huge Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan so on one fin I had the Buccaneers flag on the inside of the fin and on the other fin it was the Navy Flag. The patch on the board is a replica of the patch that they had on Navy Jackets at the time.”

He learned that Dennis was originally from Long Beach, California, and has started surfing when he was only 9 years old on borrowed and hand me down boards. When he was about 10, he saw that there was such a thing as a custom made surfboard; having a custom became a dream. Little did he know it then, it was to be a nearly lifelong dream. 

He tried saving money for one several times throughout his life but something would always come up. The money was needed to care for his wife and kids (he has 6 in total) or close friends, again, Dennis was always the type to put others first. With the passing of time, the dream of a custom surfboard started to slip away. 

Four years ago, Dennis became a widower and, by then, his kids were all grown. It was a visit to his brother in Wilmington that revived the dream, he knew how special it was. He had his own agenda that day when he proposed, “Let’s go to the brewery!”

Hence the immense cheer that came from their group of friends when he and Dennis emerged from the Savard’s shaping bay. Dennis had always preached to his kids, “Be patient, the right things will come your way.”

Upon receiving the board, a dream that was 65 years in the making, he said, “I’m so stoked right now, you don’t understand.” 

True. We live in a time of enormous abundance that is unfortunately coupled with immense selfishness. It is story’s like Dennis’ that we should champion far more than that of billionaires who amass fortunes and deploy their power to protect their wealth above all else. 

To live a life by example and to practice patience is the ultimate act of faith, a commitment to the belief that the right things will someday come. 

Dennis, we thank you for your service, both in and out of uniform. God Bless.