FRANKSVILLE, Wis. — All over the country, U.S. veterans are connecting with current service members through handwritten letters.
Senior Helpers is a specialized in-home care service for seniors and the elderly, ranging from daily assistance to in-depth specialized care. The company recently started a campaign to have their clients write letters to active military members across the country. The hope is to positively impact both the sender and recipient.
What You Need To Know
- Senior Helpers is a specialized in-home care service for seniors/elderly, ranging from daily assistance to in-depth specialized care
- The company recently started a campaign to have their clients write letters to active military members across the country
- Charles Kocourek is a Marine veteran who served overseas in Vietnam and hasn't written a letter since
- Kocourek wrote letters to active military members in hopes of providing insight from his own story
For one Wisconsin veteran from Franksville, writing the letter was a challenge he said he’s proud to have overcome.
Charles Kocourek is a Marine veteran who served overseas in Vietnam. He said while deployed, getting letters was the best part of his day, and he held them close to his heart while far from home.
“When I got letters, I used to put them in my helmet and keep them with me,” Kocourek said.
During the war, he also exchanged letters with one of his friends, who was on a different military assignment in Vietnam. However, one day his friend stopped responding, and he knew that meant he lost him. Kocourek said he hasn’t written a letter since that day. That is, until now.
With the help of his caretaker from Senior Helpers, Brooke Mauer, Kocourek is writing letters to active service members. In those letters, he has shared bits and pieces of his own history as a veteran and urged current members to reach out for help if they need it.
Mauer said she learned a lot about Kocourek and his time in the military during this process. He told her about his PTSD and mental health struggles after returning from Vietnam. She said it makes her proud, knowing what he was worked hard to overcome.
“He overcame all his pain, suffering and challenges, and became this bright, fluffy, talkative person,” she said. “I adore that.”
Kocourek has written his own book that details his time in Vietnam. It contains photos and memories. He plans to start sending it with the letters he writes through Senior Helpers. He said he hopes it can help others.
“I hope it’s at a time and place where it means something to them,” he said.