"I can't even describe how much it means:' Thousand Oaks vet gets help from Purple Hearts
Rick Daberkow needed the cavalry.
The 82-year-old Navy veteran and his wife, Linda, live on about $29,000 a year in Social Security benefits and disability payments from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. If they didn't have a reverse mortgage on their Thousand Oaks home, they might be homeless.
Their financial uncertainty mounted when the heater went on the fritz, leaving the Daberkows shivering and shaking on a cold March morning. They bought a new heating system at a discounted rate of about $6,000 but were told their centralized air conditioning also no longer worked. A new unit would cost thousands.
“I'm still wondering how I'm going to pay for the heater,” Daberkow said. “I can't do both.”
They are both disabled because of back and neck injuries that leave them homebound and susceptible to heat and cold. A social worker at the Veterans Affairs clinic in Ventura learned of their straits and turned to a Purple Heart group for help.
The Military Order of the Purple Heart, Chapter 750, is made up of about 110 veterans from San Jose to San Pedro, all of them decorated because they were wounded in combat. The group is named for Sgt. Michael DiRaimondo, an Army medic from Simi Valley. He died in Iraq on Jan. 8, 2004, on a Blackhawk helicopter that crashed on its way to bringing medical aid to wounded soldiers. He was 22.
The Purple Hearts gather monthly in virtual meetings, talking about combat, trauma, VA benefits and the people they want to help. They lead a Thanksgiving food basket drive for vets in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. They delivered 58 meals to the veterans residential care facility in Ventura for a Fourth of July celebration.
When a Santa Barbara veteran needed repairs to the flood-damaged trailer that serves as his home, the Purple Hearts provided help.
"The whole purpose is to assist needy veterans," said Gary Walker of Simi Valley, the chapter's vice commander. "I like doing things for people who need help."
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Jerry Pitman once led a chapter of the order that served the Monterey Bay. The group disbanded after age, mortality and the closure of the Fort Ord Army base winnowed it down to just three members. Pitman now serves as commander for the chapter that serves Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Like many of the Purple Hearts, Pitman was wounded in the Vietnam War. He was hit by shrapnel on March 10, 1970, when he left his bunker to fire a rocket launcher and stave off attacks from the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army.
"My best friend and I got medevaced," he said, trying to explain why he feels driven to help other vets. "I feel blessed that I'm here and not 6 feet under."
Many of the group’s projects come from the VA. When social worker Ivory Mae Long learned about Daberkow’s broken air conditioner, she reached out to Michael Cook, the chapter's former commander and a retired filmmaker.
Cook, who lives in Santa Barbara, was also wounded in Vietnam. Six pieces of shrapnel ripped through his body in 1970 when he was walking point and brushed a wire that triggered a landmine. When Cook heard of Daberkow’s story, he reached out to community groups and veterans organizations that agreed to share the costs.
Then, the unexpected happened. A donor agreed to foot the bill for the installation and repairs himself. He didn't want his name used. He didn't want attention.
“We were all stunned," Cook said. "That's a remarkable human being. You don't see that kind of unassuming charity all that often."
Daberkow is a former financial controller who has had six operations to his neck and shoulder and also suffers from nerve damage. His health means temperature control is a necessity.
When his air conditioning failed and temperatures began to rise, he didn't know where to turn. The help from the military order came as a surprise.
"When they called, I said, 'I don't have a Purple Heart,'" he remembered. They told him their goal is to help any veteran who needs it.
He flipped on the air conditioning for the first time Wednesday when temperatures started to climb. The blast of cool air was a godsend.
“I can’t even describe how much it means,” he said.
For more information about the Purple Hearts, go to https://moph-chapter-750.com/.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com or 805-437-0255.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Purple Heart group helps rescue T.O. vet from hot spot
