Miles of Service: One Volunteer’s Quiet Mission to Help Veterans
For most of us, retirement might mean slowing down. For Ron Adams, it meant hitting the road—again and again and again.
A soft-spoken Army National Guard veteran with a gentle laugh and an easy humility, Ron has spent the last thirteen years volunteering as a driver for the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) Veteran Transportation Network on behalf of the Red Cross.
On Wednesday, April 23, 2025, the Red Cross of Nebraska and Southwest Iowa recognized Ron at the Grand Island VA Medical Center for 50 years of volunteering with the Red Cross.
Ron’s passion for service began during his time in the National Guard. Now he gives back driving Veterans to their VA Nebraska-Western Iowa appointments. Rain, snow, or scorching Nebraska sun—if a veteran needs a ride to a VA appointment, Ron’s there. He doesn’t do it for praise or recognition.
“If I didn’t have this,” he says, “I’d probably be on the wrong side of the dirt. I don’t have anything else to do.” Helping people became his routine, his purpose—and his pride.
Ron drives nearly every day for the Veteran Transportation Network, often logging thousands of miles in a year. “Sometimes it’s two or three trips a day,” he says.
The work isn’t glamorous, but it’s vital. Many of the veterans he transports are elderly, low-income, or without family. “Between the VA and the DAV, if we didn’t drive them, some of these folks wouldn’t get to their appointments at all,” he says.
VA Nebraska-Western Iowa’s Volunteer Transportation Network provides rides to over 7,500 Veterans per year, driving more than 300,000 miles to get Veterans to their appointments. This essential service is always in need of more volunteers.
Ron has a message for anyone considering volunteering: “They need help, and we’re the ones who should be doing it. Not for a pat on the back, just because it’s the right thing.”
He’s modest about what he does. He downplays the thousands of miles, the daily commitment, the quiet conversations with veterans who might just need someone to listen.
And as long as the van has gas and Ron can get behind the wheel, that’s exactly what he’ll keep doing.
Learn about volunteering at https://www.va.gov/nebraska-western-iowa-health-care/work-with-us/volunteer-or-donate/.