PLANO, Texas—Volunteers from the Cornerstone Credit Union League spent Veterans Day helping two veterans make improvements to their homes.
Both Veterans reside in Fort Worth. Bobby Chandler served during the Vietnam War in Germany and injured his back while serving. Volunteers worked to replace a door, locks, putting in new tile and counter tops.
The Cornerstone league quoted Chandler as saying he “thanks the Lord that volunteers are willing to help me with these renovations.”
The other Veteran helped was 101 year-old WWII Army PFC Santiago Diaz, who was originally from a rural area in the Mexican state of Jalisco. His parents moved to Fort Worth in search of a better life.
Diaz enlisted in the military in 1943 and became a U.S. citizen when he took the oath to defend the country. He was stationed on the island of Guadalcanal during WWII where he was an army medic tasked with job of controlling malaria.
The Cornerstone league noted Diaz at age 101 remains active and articulate, and on Veterans Day spoke to about 1,500 students in Keller, Texas.
“We are so happy with the kindness and generosity that has been extended to me to help with these improvements in my house,” the Cornerstone league quoted Diaz as saying. “At my age it means a lot to be thanked for my service and people remember me.”
Cornerstone League volunteers did yard work and painted rooms inside the house.
The CCUL said it teamed up with Purple Heart Homes campaign: Operation Veteran Home Renovation, which was developed to help raise awareness about the housing challenges faced by older Veterans.
“Purple Heart Homes is a program that has been embraced by the Cornerstone league because of our tremendous pride in family and in country. When the program was initiated last April in Oklahoma City at our league annual meeting, credit unions expressed delight in having the opportunity to help veterans in their areas. Our staff similarly is excited about doing something to help these veterans remain in their homes. They have expressed appreciation for the opportunity to give back to the community and to those that defended it in this way,” said Dick Ensweiler, president and CEO of the Cornerstone Credit Union League.