National Guardsman DJ Williams was invited to Sweetwater Marina for a fishing trip before he is deployed to Afghanistan. Here Williams is pictured with his daughter, Madison, and his wife, Wendy, next to the boat they went fishing in.

One soon-to-be deployed soldier was introduced through a website to the folks at Sweetwater Marina, in Delacroix, which led to a free last hoorah fishing trip for the man and his family before his move to Afghanistan.

Dalcus “DJ” Williams Jr., a National Guardsman living in Baton Rouge, was on the Louisiana Sportsman website when he posted a question to a forum: Does anyone have an extra seat on a boat?

Williams said he wanted to take one last fishing trip before deployment to Afghanistan.

“[I received] a ton of responses,” said Williams. “There were lots of guys who offered all kinds of stuff. It was really cool how everybody wanted to help me to go fishing.”

Sweetwater Marina responded, and offered to put up Williams and his wife and daughter for the night, cook their meals and take them out on the water, free of charge.

For the duration of the Williams family’s stay, Sweetwater’s Cindy Berry whipped up veal with sautéed crab meat, steamed asparagus, crab au gratin and for dessert, chocolate dorborge cake. In the morning she served the guests pecan waffles and bacon.

“The cooking was incredible,” said Williams.

“I love that bacon,” chimed in Madison, Williams’ five-year-old daughter.

This fishing trip was Madison’s first time in St. Bernard Parish, and her first time in a boat. The trip was also a first for Williams’ wife, Wendy, who had never been saltwater fishing before.

“No one was seasick, we were good,” said Wendy with a smile.

The Williams’ were lucky enough to have sunny skies and smooth sailing, and according to Captain Jack Payne, there was a lot of action all day.

Once the group returned home, the fish were counted, and the tally showed a bounty of 21 red fish and 42 trout.

While the Sweetwater crew cleaned the day’s catch, Madison happily played on the boat – now on dry land – under the watchful eyes of her mom and dad.

Their whole adventure turned out better than Wendy had imagined when her husband first told her about it.

“I was like, ‘Where are we going to be sleeping?’” said Wendy. “I was a little worried, but everything was great. The room was great.”

After the sun set and the fish were packed, the Williams family piled into their vehicle for the drive back home to Baton Rouge, with their memories about this last fishing trip as an invaluable souvenir.