Christmas Day at the VA Hospital
Christmas Day at the VA
Hospital
Last Edited: Friday, 26 Dec 2008, 9:44 AM EST
Created On: Friday, 26 Dec 2008, 9:44 AM EST
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - They fought for our freedom with great sacrifice and today, Veterans at Buffalo's VA Hospital were not forgotten. As senior correspondent Rich Newberg reports, Servicemen and Women of Christmas present paid a visit to our heroes of the past.
The spirit of Christmas swept through the halls of the VA Hospital where some Veterans may have otherwise spent the day in relative silence.
"A lot of these fellas don't have any relatives or friends who live in this area, so consequently they have no one to visit them on Christmas Day," said Bob Payton of the 82nd Airborne Association.
The 82nd Airborne Niagara Frontier Chapter has been bringing a little joy to Veterans here for 14 years, and they get a lot in return.
"To me it gives me a feeling of what christmas is all about," added Payton.
Old soldiers know about the spirit of giving and with every patient at the VA there is a story.
Joe McCoy is one example, who as a young soldier, was deployed to Japan after the atomic bomb was dropped. He saw the ravages of war in a defeated nation, first hand.
Joe explains, "These people didn't have clothes, didn't have food, didn't have shelter" so Joe diverted food from the 'mess hall' in a program that ended up feeding thousands.
"I could call the 'mess' Sergeant, that's the guy who controls the cook, and say, 'Send a truck down with all the food you want to throw out, come on down here and we feed these people'."
In the next room over Wesley Fuqua gave people back their lives. People from all over Europe who had become slave laborers in Germany. He arranged for transportation that would take them home again. He can still feel their pain.
"You don't realize when you're in a situation like this, how lonesome you can get, you know, how completely... nothing's gonna matter any more. You're just there and you're at the mercy of what's going on. You have no control over it, you know. It's a terrible thing." said Fuqua.
So bringing a little Christmas cheer to our veterans is a nice way of saying thank you; of saying, we know, that of all people, you know something about the spirit of Christmas.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
There is also a nice video at the link from the newsroom
Friday, December 26, 2008
Christmas Day at the VA Hospital
