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KOREAN WAR VETERAN CONTINUES WORKING FOR OTHER

VETS -- "I felt totally fulfilled helping other wounded veterans

get the disability benefits they deserved."

 

 

Story here... http://www.dailysouthtown.com/
news/358473,vet-26.article

Story below:

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Chicago Heights man does more than his part for wounded vets

By Jim Hook Staff writer

Paul Mons could spend his retirement in a lot of different ways. But the 75-year-old Chicago Heights man chooses to spend much of his free time these days visiting military veterans in various Department of Veterans Affairs homes and hospitals.

“I like visiting our veterans,” said Mons, who served in the Army during the Korean War. “I want these veterans to know that people care about them and are proud of them.”

Mons also is actively involved in Chicago Heights Chapter 252 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

He received a Purple Heart after being injured by hand grenade shrapnel when he was 21.

Mons’ injury came four days before the war ended.

“I was in the hospital when both sides agreed to end the war,” he said.

“Doctors got most of the shrapnel out of my back and legs. I still have some (shrapnel) near my spine,” he said. “Doctors said it was too risky to attempt to remove.

“And that gives me problems in the damp weather,” Mons said. “But I’ve learned to live with it.”

Awarded to those wounded in combat, the Purple Heart is one of several medals Mons received.

When he returned home, Mons wanted to pursue a career as a drafter. But his injured back prevented him from working in that profession.

Instead, he began making cabinets, a vocation that allowed him the freedom to stand most of the time.

But he remained involved with his fellow veterans.

Mons already was a member of the local chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, where he worked to get veterans their government entitlements.

He is a six-time chapter commander and former state commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Mons was approached by the state Department of Veterans Affairs and asked to serve as a full-time service officer responsible for taking care of veterans’ medical benefits claims.

He spent the next 18 years in that capacity.

“I felt totally fulfilled helping other wounded veterans get the disability benefits they deserved,” Mons said. “And I fought hard for the veterans.”

In the early 1980s, Mons helped design the Purple Heart license plate that graces thousands of Illinois vehicles.

The first license plate rolled out in 1985.

“I’m proud of being part of that, too,” Mons said. “But I’m most proud of my service to my country. That, and spending time with the vets.”

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Larry Scott  --