Tomah VA making wishes come true

When a Veteran who usually doesn’t ask for anything expresses a wish, the people around him will move mountains to make the request a reality. This was the case when WWII and Korean War Veteran Ben Shove told his recreational therapist, Heather Sangl, that he would love to see a military flyover.

Sangl contacted several Tomah VA departments, including the Chief of Center for Development and Civic Engagement Jennifer Conzemius, who reached out to CMSgt Travis D. Skowronski with Volk Field.

Volk Field staff rolled out the red carpet for Shove, 97, who was accompanied by Sangl and his nurse, Toni Johnson, to experience the air exercise Northern Lighting, a joint training exercise conducted annually.

Shove, a VA Community Living Center resident, had a front row seat to experience the military jets flyover. Volk Field service members and a half dozen airmen made Shove’s experience even more memorable by bringing him out on the tarmac, thanking him for his service and presenting him three patches and a service coin.

“It was very cool to be a part of that. It was a good day,” Shove excalimed. He spent the remainder of his time at Volk Field sharing stories of his military experiences with current service members.

Tears of joy

Sangl recalls Shove’s excitement while they were returning to VA. “He smiled the entire ride back and had tears of joy in thanking us for making this happen for him. Words cannot describe how excited and grateful I am for being able to make this happen for him. It was a true joy getting to see the younger generation of service members listen so intently to his stories and then treat him like the hero he is.”

Shove’s wish turned into a reality within a 24-hour period, all due to Tomah VA and Volk Field staff’s dedication to Veterans and the desire to make one WWII and Korean War Veteran’s wish come true.