I met a true American hero this week. Noel is one of the really good guys. He’s the kind of man you would want for a neighbor and friend. Noel is 85. He served in the Navy and fought in the Battle of Okinawa. He is proud of his service to our nation, but it’s not the recognition received for his service that he likes to talk about.
I walked through Noel’s door along with the young family that delivers him a food box once a month. He is a recipient of the senior food box program at the Utah Food Bank. Noel immediately pulled me into his kitchen to talk about his wife. She was the love of his life. The two were in a marriage that spanned decades. There were pictures of her taped to every cabinet in the kitchen, and a love letter from her was held on the refrigerator with a magnet. One picture showed the happy couple on their 50th anniversary. Noel told me “we had a really good marriage, one of the really good ones.”
He lost his sweetheart to cancer not long ago. Noel fought hard to save his wife, just as he fought to save his beloved nation in the Pacific. He used what resources he had to provide her with the medical treatments she needed. In the end that battle was lost.
Now, Noel is alone. He told me his friends from the Navy are all gone too. “When you get as old as I am, and so forth, you just don’t have the company any more. You’re alone; just you and the TV.”
That’s why the visit from the volunteers who bring him food once a month is so important to him. It’s also likely the reason Noel seemed reluctant to let us leave, and why the hug he gave me lingered.
Noel reminded me of my own grandfather who passed a couple of years ago. He too was a proud World War Two veteran. He too, lost his wife several years before his passing. Fortunately for us, we were nearby to enjoy his final years. But I was told by those at the Utah Food Bank that of the 26-hundred seniors they serve in the Salt Lake valley, a startling number have no one.
Hundreds of volunteers are needed to take food boxes to these senior citizens. They are national treasures. In one short afternoon, my life is enriched for having met just one of them. Noel inspired me. I hope inspires you too. Call the Utah Food Bank if you can help with the Senior Food Box Program.
