Manteno Veterans Get Early Christmas Surprise

For the second year, Scott Sumrall and his friends organized a gift-giving event for the veterans at the Manteno home. This year's event was themed “Operation: Thank A Vet.” (Photos courtesy of Scott Sumrall.

By Karen Haave

Christmas came early for the residents of the Veterans Home at Manteno, courtesy of Scott Sumrall and his friends.

For the second year, Sumrall organized a gift-giving event for the veterans, but unlike last year’s Christmas celebration, this time it was themed “Operation: Thank A Vet.”

Sumrall and his supporters noted that the veterans receive many gifts around Christmas, but don’t receive much during the rest of the year.

So, collaborating with the staff at the veteran’s home, they opted to “celebrate the veterans” at Thanksgiving time.

“This way they were able to receive a bag at a time when they aren’t overwhelmed with lots of others,” he explained, with the added bonus of realizing “how thankful we are for them.”

“All 180 Veterans received gift bags. We worked with the home to come up with a list of more expensive items that the veterans need and wanted, rather than a lot of small items.

“Each veteran received an embroidered military hat, cozy neck pillow, bag of Hershey bars, and cologne.

“We were able to go into one of the wings (of the home) to hand out the bags and visit with the veterans.

“They enjoyed having visitors,” he said, adding that their reactions to the gifts were very positive. One said, “Wow! I love the American flag and eagle on the hat,” as he pulled it on.

Another said, “I never had a neck pillow. It’s so soft and nice. I’ll be using this often.” Still another said the Hershey bars were his favorite: “I’ll make good use of these.”

A doctor at Hearing and Balance Specialists in Frankfort, Sumrall said that his colleagues strive to support the community in many ways, and one focus is “celebrating our veterans.”

“At Hearing and Balance Specialists, our veterans are our heroes. They served bravely and proudly to protect our country. We are very thankful for their service and they deserve to be celebrated.”

At the same time, Sumrall said, “Thank you to the community for all of their generosity and support to make this event possible.”

Karen Haave is a freelance reporter.