88-year-old Virgil Young sits in his new powered wheelchair at his Hannibal home.
/ Brooke Hasch
HANNIBAL, MO. -- He served three years in the US Army back in the 1940s and Sunday, Virgil Young received a small piece of appreciation from his fellow veterans.
Members of the Tri-State Warrior Outreach program rolled in an electric wheelchair for the World War II vet. At the age of 88, Young has gotten around with the help of his walker, but when his family learned about the services the warrior program provided, they made a few calls.
This power wheelchair has been passed down from one veteran to the next over the years.
"If I'm just moving from room to room, this is going to be the handiest. The walker, they say, 'You've got it to sit on.' It's not built to sit on, I don't think. The seat's too small, too slick and it's hard to sit on," Young said. "I'm glad I have the chair. I want to tell this young man right now, that when I'm done with it, I'm going to do the same thing he's done. I'm going to call and ask a volunteer if he needs it and let him have it. I want to do the same thing."
Young says he has no plans to give the chair up anytime soon. He says that call will come from "the man upstairs."
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