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VOL. 4/ISSUE 21
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016
Port St. Lucie home to 108-year-old hero Patrick McCallister FOR VETERAN VOICE
pmccallister@veteranvoiceweekly.com
Frank Wells was not a youth when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The 108-year-old entered the service in 1942. He was in his late 30s when he enlisted. “When I joined, I owned a newspaper,” Wells said. “I wasn’t drafted. I picked the Navy.” Wells is most likely the oldest veteran in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Medical Foster Homes program, according to its national director. He lives in a medical foster home in St. Lucie West with his wife, Frances. The two have lost track of their anniversaries, but still look at each other with obvious adoration. “He doesn’t think, ‘old,’” Frances said. Wells joined the Navy, but ended up in a Marine Corps medical battalion. He spent three years island hopping in the South Pacific as America fought hard battle after hard battle to gain ground against the Japanese. “So many dang islands, I can’t name them,” Wells said. What Wells claims is that his service was routine and ordinary. “I can’t say I was a great patriot,” he said. But— “I could tell some wild tales, but I’m not,” Wells added. The nine-year semi-professional football player said he didn’t feel a need to find glory in his service. He served for three years, and went home. “I was just glad to get out and go back to the newspaper,” he said. “I was successful at it. I loved the newspaper business.” While serving overseas, Wells didn’t write anything about his experiences for publication in the paper he owned. He wasn’t interested in writing anything about it when he got out either. Wells didn’t join any veterans organizations. He didn’t ride in parades. He was content to put his uniform away, and get back to his life. “I think I want to forget,” he said. But as the calendars came and went, age made it progressively harder for Frank and Frances to take care of themselves. Wells’ recently walked into a VA
Photo courtesy of Frank and Frances Wells Frank Wells, center kneeling, joined the Navy in his late 30s and served from 1942 to 1945. He served in a medical battalion in the Marine Corps. to ask for some help. “He had never stepped foot in a VA,” Emily Flowers-Yahn, the foster-home coordinator for St. Lucie County, said. “I got him enrolled for placement here.” Wells became one of about 3,550 veterans annually who find care in the medical foster homes. While in the homes, veterans are in the VA’s Home Based Primary Care program. The medical foster homes are private, residential houses with VA-trained caregivers who help with daily activities, such as bathing and dressing. The caregivers must commit to having plans for ensuring the veterans get basic care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are 52 veterans and two spouses in foster homes in the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center’s area, which includes Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties. Nationally, the program started in 2010. Locally it started in 2012.
See WELLS page 5
At 108 Frank Wells is most likely the oldest veteran in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Medical Foster Home national program. The World War II veteran lives in St. Lucie West with his wife, Frances.
Photo by Patrick McCallister