Vietnam Vets Reach Out to Serve Fellow Soldier

Members of the Chapter 271 of the Vietnam Veterans of America work at Peters' home. Photo courtesy of Don Homuth.

By Dan Shryock, The West Side Newspaper

There was a time when Ron Peters served others. He volunteered to join the United States Army and serve in Vietnam. He completed a tour of duty as a helicopter flight engineer in 1969 and returned to his native Oregon.

He later enlisted in the Air National Guard and served for several more years before retiring as Chief Warrant Officer 4.

Now, decades later, Ron is in a wheelchair following what his wife, Carol, calls a “life altering stroke” in April 2024. He no longer flies in helicopters. His dream today is to go for a car ride. The projects he planned and started at his West Salem home remain incomplete. Much-needed repairs need attention.

Carol Peters was at her wit’s end when she asked the Polk County Veterans Services Office where she could find help. The answer was simple: Call the local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

She made the call and quickly discovered veterans who have never stopped serving.

“Carol's call to the VVA chapter was simple enough,” said Don Homuth, the first chapter member who responded to the Peters’ needs. “She wondered if someone could come by to weed whack their yard which had overgrown. I volunteered to do it, went over to the house, and immediately saw that there was much more to be done than just the yard.”

Kirk Macdoanld, left, Jesse Gonzales, and Bob Barker finish tearing down of the Peters' old porch. Photo courtesy Don Homuth.

The front steps and porch were beset with dry rot. The front door badly needed repair. Homuth required reinforcements, so he turned to three fellow vets from the local chapter 271: Bob Barker, a Navy man from Independence, and Army soldiers Jesse Gonzalez of Keizer and Kirk Macdonald of Dallas. Together, they rebuilt the stairs and decking leading to the Peters’ front door.

“You really have to feel for the guy,” Homuth said. “He was active and involved until he had the stroke. And now he's got these projects that he will never get to. And to be really honest, we can't do it all. All of us are Vietnam veterans which means that we are all old guys in our 70s at least.”

There’s more to do and Homuth wondered if other service organizations could help out. With small efforts by many, he thought, much could be accomplished.

“The overall set of issues here is more than we can handle,” he said. “I’m hoping to get some interest from service clubs or the Scouts or something like that to come over and help out.”

Acts like this are becoming commonplace for Chapter 271. The 115-member group also raises money each year for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner giveaways to individual vets, homeless shelters, and the National Guard centers. More than 300 meals were distributed during the 2025 holiday season.

There’s an underlying message to all this, Homuth said. The Vietnam War was not popular among Americans in the 1960s and ‘70s, and service members returning home were not welcomed back with the fanfare and gratitude soldiers from other conflicts received. They were overlooked by many of the same veterans who fought in World War II.

“We have a motto,” he says. “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”

Volunteers Kirk Macdonald, top left, Jesse Gonzalez, top right, and Don Homuth join Carol Peters on repaored stairs at the Peters' West Salem home.

To help fulfill that promise, Macdonald actively circulates cards at key locations across the Mid-Willamette Valley to spread the word that Chapter 271 is here to help. “When someone gets ahold of us, we try to see what we can do and then we just go from there. If we all need to come together, we do it.”

Ron Peters knows this as he welcomes the front deck repair crew into his home. From his wheelchair, Ron leans toward his fellow vets and slowly extends his hand to greet each man and softly thank them for their service on his behalf. Carol, too, is appreciative of their time and support.

Carol is then told that the $700 cost of the materials used on the front steps and deck will be absorbed by the local Vietnam Veterans chapter. Surprised, she moves her hand to her mouth, as if she were at a loss for words.

“We’re so very, very appreciative,” she said later. “It's been awesome to have so many people helping us. We didn't know them before, but I feel like we have known them for years. Every time they come to the house the first thing they want to do is come in and see Ron.”

Asked how Ron feels about these new friends, Carol says, “oh, he's cried. He's not able to express himself other than that but his tears are happy tears.”