Maine Volunteers Give Disabled Veteran Spring Yard Makeover

George Stewart joined the U.S. Army seven days after graduating high school, serving in the elite 82nd Airborne Division. But combat service left him with a spinal cord injury that required 11 surgical procedures and should have confined him to a wheelchair.

"I'm supposed to be in a wheelchair, but I'm still upright," Stewart said. He's lived independently in his Hiram, Maine home for a decade, but chronic injuries have made routine maintenance nearly impossible.

That's when Disabled American Veterans stepped in. On a Saturday morning in early April, more than 10 volunteers from DAV chapters across Maine arrived at Stewart's property for a spring cleaning mission.

"We are raking his yard, getting it ready for spring cleanup, we moved some plywood and wood that he had around the property and stacked it properly so we can utilize that, and any other odds and ends that George might need today," explained Dave Burns, DAV Maine State Adjutant and Treasurer. The volunteers tackled tasks that Stewart simply couldn't manage on his own.

For Larry Gilpatrick, DAV chapter commander from Windham, the work goes beyond yard maintenance. "We just try and make people have a better quality of life," he said.

Sunny's Take

What makes this story shine isn't just the raking and wood stacking. It's veterans helping veterans, turning gratitude into action.

"The DAV is a lifesaver coming here today for me," Stewart said. "It would have been impossible for me to do anything that was done today."

Gilpatrick put it perfectly: "People will use the word thank you, and we want to thank them with not only words but action if we can." After completing the cleanup, the DAV honored Stewart with a commemorative coin for his service.

The organization supports over one million veterans nationwide in accessing benefits and healthcare, proving that sometimes the best way to say thank you is to show up with a rake.