96-year-old Korean War veteran Charlie Rentzel went into the Anchor Bar in Frederick, Maryland one afternoon to have a beer. Fellow veteran Alex Nowlin spotted Charlie’s Korean War cap and quietly picked up the tab for Charlie and his wife, Anna.
Over a friendly chat, Alex learned the couple were heading home from Charlie’s oncology appointments, as he is in a cancer battle currently. His wife mentioned how hard Charlie has been fighting to keep a sense of normalcy but it was getting harder and harder for him to do things like wash himself in a traditional tub or even walk their stairs.
Alex was shocked. "Why didn't you say something earlier? Don't you know these people in here are all about serving? Hey guys Charlie here needs some major renovations at his house to help make his life liveable. Who wants to help"?
Pretty much the whole bar raised their hands! They made some calls to likeminded individuals and within a few days dozens of patrons gathered at Charlie's house with $10,000 they had raised to buy materials.
Over the next couple of days they installed an ADA-compliant bathroom, safer windows, fresh paint the inside and outside, fixed up the yard, and installed a new walkway so Charlie no longer has to climb stairs. Many of the volunteers had never even met the couple before. When Charlie came home and saw what they had done he started crying. “I’m not doing it because I’m sad. I’m doing it because I’m happy. How lucky can I be? A guy buys me a beer and then does all this".