EDITORS NOTE: The following article is reprinted with permission from the Chanhassen Villager, Chanhassen, MN, and was written by Unsie Zuege. Dave Drealan is a 1964 graduate of Fulda High School.
When veterans help out soldiers, the benefits can provide hope and healing all around.
Case in point, Dave Drealan, a longtime Chanhassen resident.
Drealan is a modest, close-to-the-vest guy. So he was surprised that anyone would make such a big deal over such a simple thing as a car donation.
On the face of it, what he did was practical. Living alone, it made sense to donate that extra vehicle in his driveway. As a Vietnam veteran who served in the U.S. Air Force in Thailand, he thought it would be nice if the car went to a vet or someone in military service. And he thought the donation would be a way to memorialize his son, William.
After mentioning it to retired U.S. Army colonel Bob Ayotte, the longtime Chanhassen resident made some calls.
Last December, Drealan turned over the title and the car keys to Sgt. Lance Becherer, a member of the Army Reserve, 652nd Engineer Company, out of Hammond, Wisconsin. Becherer owned a car he couldn’t afford to fix, and in November, got stranded after a training weekend in Fort McCoy.
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