Vets help one of their own

Vets help one of their own
Dave Baity

GARDEN CITY BEACH -- When Ed Meek hired Mike Butryn, owner of Pristine Home Services, to do some work on the doublewide mobile home he and his wife, Alice, bought, he got more than he bargained for.

Butryn completed the work the two had agreed on, then went beyond the call of duty, Meek said.

After learning that Meek is a veteran of the Vietnam War, suffered disabilities from wounds he received while in service, and also was a prisoner of war, Butryn decided that Meek needed help to ready the mobile home so that he and his wife could move there by May 17.

So, Butryn, 68, an Air Force veteran who served in Thailand during the Vietnam era, rounded up some friends who'd also served in the military. Early Thursday morning, they arrived at Meek's new home in the Windjammer Mobile Home Village to give Meek a hand, free of charge.

Butryn also wants to expand on the idea. He hopes the service project completed by him; Bob Kaiser, a 66-year-old veteran who served in Korea during the Vietnam era; and Terry Wiebel, who served in the Navy during that era, will become a permanent thing and attract other volunteers.



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