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Staff Spotlight: Meet Don Muterspaw, Maintenance Mechanic/Plumber in Elizabethtown
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Residents and staff in Elizabethtown may know Don Muterspaw as the outgoing, friendly Maintenance staff member who is always there when he's needed and can fix just about anything. But occasionally, Don's work here at the Masonic Village goes above and beyond the duties outlined in his job description.
After 24 years of working here, Don has come to know a fair portion of the residents on campus. Robert Schnader of McKee 2 is just one of Don's many resident friends. They met when Don was called to do maintenance work in Bro. Schnader's room.
In conversation, the two men found they had a few things in common. Don learned that, like his late father, Bro. Schnader is a World War II veteran. However, unlike Don's father,
Bro. Schnader had none of his medals to show for his years of service with the 395th Regiment of the U.S. Army's 99th District.
"I never realized how decorated my father was until 30 years later," Don said, reflecting on his initial reaction to Bro. Schnader's situation. Don's father had earned two purple hearts and a bronze star, among others. As a tribute to his father's service, Don constructed a wooden box to house and display the medals.
When Don learned that Bro. Schnader never received his medals, nor did he know which ones were due to him, he knew he had to find a way to honor this forgotten veteran.
"In his mind, his records were lost and that was it," Don said. But Don was determined to find out which medals Bro. Schnader deserved and retrieve them, a task which would have been completely impossible if it weren't for a tiny piece of paper Robert kept in his back pocket all these years. Don referred to the piece of evidence as the "holy grail." The DD-214 form can be likened to a military DNA - it has every piece of information needed to identify a soldier.
Once Don had this information, he called the office of Rep. Joseph Pitts to ask for some help in his mission. A few pieces of paperwork later, Don received in the mail Bro. Schnader's medals: a good conduct medal, an occupation medal, a combat infantry badge, a sharpshooter badge, a private first class stripe, a Battle of the Bulge Patch and a bronze star for valor, among others.
It took Don several days to arrange the medals in a visually appealing way in the display case he made. When it was finally finished, he presented the display to Bro. Schnader in the Grand Lodge Hall dining room during dinner.
Bro. Schnader thanked Don and continues to admire the medals he had been missing for so long. Don humbly denies that the deed was extraordinary in its nature.
"He didn't have [his medals] and he deserved them; simple as that," Don said. "I felt like it was something I needed to do; I'd do it for any veteran."
According to Bro. Schnader's daughter, Pam Miles, the veteran was "very, very surprised" by Don's generous act. "After all these years, I don't think Dad expected to get anything," she said.
Although her father has always been very modest about his past wartime ordeals, Pam believes finally getting his recognition has served Bro. Schnader well.
"It brought a personal closure to him," said Pam. "For him, his personal WWII is [now] over."
On Aug. 30, Bro. Schnader was officially presented with his medals in their new display by Rep. Pitts. The presentation took place in the Solarium in Grand Lodge Hall, with several residents and staff in attendance, including Don and Donna Hershey, Director of Care and Outcomes and a member of the 99th Army Reserve Unit. Bro. Schnader's family, including his two daughters, their husbands and his grandson, also came to support him.
Don was one of the first people to show up at the event. As if his actions alone weren't testament enough, Don's patriotism was reflected in the American flag print shirt he proudly sported. After the presentation, Don stayed to explain to residents and staff the significance of each of the medals in Bro. Schnader's display case.
The purple heart, Don explained, was for outstanding valor and bravery. But as Don continued to detail each medal and the process of retrieving them, it became quite obvious that Bro. Schnader wasn't the only man in the room to go above and beyond his call to duty.
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| Don Muterspaw, Maintenance Mechanic/Plumber in Elizabethtown, created a wooden display case (inset) for resident Robert Schnader's medals, which he recently received for his service in the Army during WWII. |
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Family members support Bro. Schnader
at his medal presentation in August. |
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