CARROLLTON, Texas — Arguably no veteran embodies the spirit of Veterans Day more than one veteran at Sonoma House Assisted Living and Alzheimer’s Care in Carrollton.
Ret. Lt. Col. Pat Rever spent 22 years in the Marine Corps, served three tours in Vietnam and earned a Purple Heart after his helicopter was shot down in combat.
But his decorated military career didn’t start out of any patriotic calling, it started out of necessity.
“I had three years of college and ran out of cash, as some people do, and I enlisted,” Rever said.
However, what started as a way to make a living resulted in a rich life.
After serving in the war, Rever flew the presidential helicopter for Richard Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson.
Following a career at Bell Helicopter, he could’ve retired peacefully. Instead, he went to work with special needs students in the local school district.
Even now, at 89, he’s still making time for others: By volunteering with the other residents to make cards for the holidays.
All of it, Rever says, isn’t really a big deal.
“None of those things are largely significant,” he said.
His son, Harry Rever, says quite the contrary.
“If you do the right things, if you love your family, you love your country, if you try to help other people, if you make good decisions then you’ll have a life fulfilled,” he said.
Harry said it’s almost as if putting others before himself is in his dad’s DNA, which may be why Rever is so wonderfully oblivious to his own good deeds.
Like many veterans, the desire to serve didn’t begin at enlistment and doesn’t end at retirement.
Rever is a shining example, an example that’s needed now more than ever.
“If you don’t help others, you’re cheating somebody,” he said. “When you can, if you have the opportunity, you’ve got to take it.”
Because when you do, you discover the greatest treasure on earth.
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