Koetting: Giving others a little ray of sunshine

I was reminded of how much the little things can mean to others before the Christmas holiday. I took a day off work and went to Kansas City to finish up some last minute shopping.

I decided to make a stop along the way. As I pulled off at the Concordia exit, the excitement brewed deep within me — for I was about to see two men had I hadn’t seen in a very long time.

When the Veterans page was created, a lot of our stories came from the Concordia area. Over the years I’ve gotten to know quite a few of these veterans. I knew two of these men were residents of the Lutheran Good Shepherd Nursing Home.

The last time I saw Bill Nienhueser was in 2007. I convinced him to come to Sedalia to participate in the Missouri Veteran Stories project. The then 88-year old veteran walked into the Democrat with his Army uniform on and a gleam in his eye. He was part of the D-Day invasion.

I met Vernon Meyer in 2002, but I hadn’t seen him since the Democrat held a party for its “Generations for Freedom” book in 2006. I tried to get Vernon to do one of the state videos too, but his health wouldn’t allow him. He participated in the Battle of Leyte during World War II.

He calls me from time to time to say hello or to express his thoughts on a story. With the
assistance of the nursing home, I helped him get his 90th birthday announcement in the paper in October.

They had no idea I was coming. I walked into Vernon’s room first and said hello. Initially, he didn’t realize who I was, but once he did, he grabbed a hold of my hand. He couldn’t believe his eyes and that I was really there in person.

He asked if he could come with me to see Bill and needed my assistance to get into his wheelchair. I gladly obliged and we rolled into Bill’s room.

He was surprised too. The three of us talked about spouses, children, war, work and health. I could tell how much my visit meant to them, because I could see the tears in their eyes.

Out of all the Christmas presents I gave to others, my absolute favorite was giving some of my time to Vernon and Bill. I know those few minutes will keep them smiling for weeks.I know they did me.

Veterans like these can be found at any nursing home. If you know some who are, I encourage you to take the time to visit them. While it may seem like such a little thing, that gesture can be a ray of sunshine to some who needs one.