“What did you learn in the military that helped you transition to civilian life?”
Veterans Robert Keller and Teddy Ward did not think long about their answers: discipline and education.
Both men in their 90s were confronted with the question on Veterans Day by a platoon of active duty Sailors who hand-delivered them meals on behalf of Meals on Wheels.
Keller and Ward stood and beamed at the opportunity to visit and speak with some fresh-faced service people.
Keller, a 91-year-old WWII veteran, said the discipline he learned in the Army helped him run a successful tire dealership in San Diego for decades.
“To be successful in business, you have to be a disciplined person and I carried that through life after I was in the service,” he explained.
Ward, a 93-year-old Navy veteran, said his education through the GI Bill put him down the path of success.
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“Continue your education and it’ll do you well if you stay in or if you decide to get back to civilian life,” said Ward.
The two Point Loma residents spent more than 10 minutes sharing stories and giving advice to the men and women who delivered their food. Keller and Ward receive several meals a week from Meals on Wheels. However, active duty personnel join in the deliveries every Veterans Day.
A Meals on Wheels of San Diego County spokesperson said they deliver more than 350,000 meals a year. That’s almost 1,000 per day. The spokesperson said roughly 100 in a day in San Diego County are delivered to military veterans.
