Hometown Hero Travels Miles to Help Children and Veterans

LOUISBURG, Mo. -- At 77 years old, Dayle Nelson considers himself a simple man. He was born and raised on a farm with good, hometown values.

"I'd always rather help somebody rather than depend on somebody to help me so"

And that's what Dayle is doing today: helping others. An Army veteran himself, Dayle drives disabled veterans to Columbia whenever they need him.

"I figured that a lot of them don't drive or whatever, don't want to drive to JeffCity and Columbia, so somebody might need some help."

"To me, I've admired him for that because I think that many in this country don't realize how many men need that assistance," says Dayle's wife, Agnes Nelson. "I have taught my own children the importance of honoring veterans."

Dayle is a member of the Shriners and he's part of Hospital Dads. Shriners drive sick and injured children to the Shriners Hospitals for Children in St. Louis.

"These little crutches are where we sponsored kids to go up to the hospital," points out Dayle. "You're carrying the child and the crutch there that's our logo on that so."

Dayle still recalls one of the first young children helped. At 13 months old, a little girl was severely burned and she wasn't expected to live. Dayle drove her and her family to Shriner's Hospital. He will never forget the look on the little girls face as she fought to survive.

"The temple kind of calls her their miracle baby."

Dayle never slows down. He's on countless committees, was the vice president of the local Farm Bureau, and he's always ready to go when someone needs him.

"If somebody needs something, you call Dayle," says Gloria Stroud, Dayle's neighbor. "He never says 'no' to anything. I mean, he's a wonderful neighbor."

He says he's going to keep doing it, "as long as I can."