WACO, Texas — Shirley Sims loves to appreciate veterans and the military in any way she can. She organizes 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 create bigger and better events yearly in the community as our neighbors are more aware of what our veterans need.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Shirley Sims deeply loves her late husband, Louis Sims.
"He was a Marine," said Shirley, widow of the Marine veteran. "He Joined the Marines after graduating from Mart High, went to Vietnam, and became a sergeant over 43 platoons."
On Christmas Day, 1964,
"He got 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 got him up. He took them to safety, but he was barely moving."
Shirley has always admired and appreciated Louise's service and every veteran she's encountered.
"You serve for us, and I'm going to thank you. I don't care where you are. If you've got a wife with you and I see you out, I'm going to salute you, thank you for your service, and shake her hand, too," Sims said.
She organizes events throughout the year to honor everyone in our community who has served.
"War of any kind is horrible," Roger Sturtevant, former Marine, said. "It's something they've got 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," former Navy and National Guard Larry Moten said. It's touched me."
On Veterans Day, she keeps Louis' legacy alive, saying that even though it's been hard since his passing in 2015, she knows he's with her every day, giving her the strength to continue to do the work she does for our vets.
"God laid this on my heart, and I said I'm going to keep it going," Sims said.
