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Volunteer Driver's Transporting 'Precious Cargo'; Veterans to the Syracuse VA Medical Center

John Smith/ WAER News

Volunteers at the Syracuse VA Medical Center say if it wasn’t for the service they provide through the Disabled American Veterans, many would never make it to Syracuse for medical care.  For the trained Volunteer Drivers are dedicated such as Dana Squire, the chance to serve transport them is an honor.

“All my cargo that I pick-up is very precious but, my most precious cargo is World War II Vets that we’re losing at a real rapid rate now.”

Squire recalls a friendship that formed over a simple conversation with a World War II Veteran he picked up.

“He said, hey Dana, are you going to be picking me up three weeks from now and I said no. Funny you should say that... my wife and I are going to be on vacation. He said, you’re not going to Berlin are you? I said yeah, in fact, that’s our first stop. He said I’ve been to Berlin 25 times. And he reeled me right in, I said 25 times! What company had the money to afford to send you there 25 times? And I’ll clean the language up but, he said, you son of a gun, I was a Tail Gunner in a B-17.”

The D-A-V makes runs in more than 13-thousand 500 miles. Recruiter Bill Gleason says the new Spinal Chord Injury Center at the Syracuse V-A Medical Center is boosting the numbers of clients who need to be transported.

“They put two more floors on the parking garage because now, not only the area... they’re coming in all over the State... Buffalo, Yonkers, Rochester, Albany... all over to get this kind of treatment. That’s why our numbers are 27-thousand.”

Credit John Smith/ WAER News
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John Smith/ WAER News
DAV Volunteer Driver Ed Heinrich.

Some of the other areas the DAV serves include Potsdam and Ogdensburg, the Mohawk Valley and Cortland.  Volunteer drivers must have no DWI or DUI offenses and must have a valid State Driver’s license or one that will be able to be transferred within a year. To inquire about driving, call 425-4343.

John Smith has been waking up WAER listeners for a long time as our Local Co-Host of Morning Edition with timely news and information, working alongside student Sportscasters from the Newhouse School.