The mission was simple: Tend to a fellow Oshkosh veteran’s yard, rake up some leaves and help a comrade and his wife get ready for winter.
“The first veteran we will be helping is actually a former UW Oshkosh employee and World War II veteran, I believe — Tom Conley,” states the brief email from UW Oshkosh Veterans Resource Center Coordinator Shawn Monroe. “We’ll be getting to his house around 9:30 a.m… Some folks from Oshkosh Corporation will also be helping out as well.”
Members of the UW Oshkosh Veterans Resource Center staff and the Student Veterans Association at UW Oshkosh and partners from Oshkosh Corporation made retired UW Oshkosh staff member Thomas Conley’s yard work their first “Veterans Work Day” of the year on Oct. 25.
“They called about a week or more before,” said Conley, who served in both the U.S. and Europe during World War II. “There were about eight of them that came.”
Conley also served at UW Oshkosh for more than 16 years as a grants accountant. He suffered a stroke about a year ago and has some difficulty with his balance. He said appreciated the support of the UW Oshkosh veterans team, as some days are better than others.
“Comme ci, comme ca,” Conley said.
Here’s a snapshot of the Oct. 25 project and the support UW Oshkosh veterans and friends provided their comrade…
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