WACO, Texas — Shirley Sims likes to appreciate veterans and the military in any way she can. She hosts events throughout the year to show appreciation and awareness throughout the Central Texas community. Shirley does her philanthropic work for veterans in honor of her late husband.
- Her late husband, Sgt. Louis Sims, who served in the Marine Corps
- Shirley hopes to host bigger and better events in the community each year as our neighbors become more aware of what our veterans need.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Shirley Sims loves her late husband, Louis Sims, very much.
“He was a Marine,” said Shirley, the Marine veteran’s widow. “He joined the Marines after graduating from Mart High, went to Vietnam and became a sergeant in charge of 43 platoons.”
On Christmas Day 1964,
“He was wounded in action,” Sims said. “When he got shot and wounded in the leg, he fell, and some of the other platoons said, ‘Sims got hit.’ And when he fell, they helped him up. He got them to safety, but he barely moved.”
Shirley always admired and appreciated the service of Louise and every veteran she encountered.
“You serve for us, and I’m going to thank you. I don’t care where you are. If you have a woman with you and I see you out, I’m going to greet you, thank you for your service, and shake her hand too ,” Sims said.
She hosts events throughout the year to honor everyone in our community who has served.
“Every war is terrible,” said Roger Sturtevant, a former Marine. “It’s something they have to live with. So, veterans, I have all the respect for veterans because they mean a lot to me.”
“It means a lot to me,” said former Marine and National Guardsman Larry Moten. It affected me.”
On Veterans Day, she keeps Louis’ legacy alive by saying that even though things have been difficult since his passing in 2015, she knows he is with her every day, which gives her the strength to continue doing the work she does for our veterinarians do.
“God put this on my heart and I said I was going to go through with it,” Sims said.