Soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and Guardians are all service members. We may focus on them storming a beach or driving a tank or soaring the skies in a jet, but regardless of what they do, they’re all said to be “in the service.” I recently spoke with retired Army 1st Sgt. Travis Baker, asking about his service, a question that often invites a record of achievements. But Baker focused on the idea of putting the needs of others before one’s own. 

He enlisted in 1992 not for college money or a cash bonus or upon the encouragement of a judge but because he wanted to serve his country. He joined the field artillery, determined to be a “lifer-plus,” serving beyond the 20 years required to qualify for retirement benefits. His goal was to remain in the Army for 30 years. He persisted for nearly 24, and of course with the high deployment tempo of the first decade of the 21st century, he deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He notes sadly that it wasn’t a war wound that ended his military career. He was compelled to retire after an accident in the Colorado mountains while on leave.

1st Sgt. Baker’s injuries were horrific and numerous. It’s enough to know his body and military career were shattered by an injury that saw him spend three months as an inpatient and two years as an outpatient at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He had to relearn walking and be in a wheelchair for nine months, a walker for six.

Such a painful setback, to body and career, would have ended me, and I think it was nearly so for Baker. He’s a tough old first sergeant. He didn’t complain about the pain or dwell on his doubts or depression, nor did I pry. But I sense his ordeal was far more difficult than a physical challenge because he used language like, “a lot of veterans don’t seek help, because we think we’re good, and we’re not” or “one thing that kept me going.”

After retirement, something that’s kept him going is the Veterans of Foreign Wars, or VFW, organization. A friend talked Baker into joining and filling a vacancy as his junior vice commander. Three months later, his friend and the vice commander quit, thrusting Baker into the post commander position. He quickly realized, “This might be my calling because I’ve got nothing else.”

He has grown children. He has friends. But people require purpose. Soldiers need a mission. “There’s more to the VFW than a building with a bar,” Baker repeatedly stressed to me. “We do serve a greater purpose.” He works hard, on a purely volunteer basis, for the VFW and those it serves, admitting the organization saved him, even though it sounds like he and his fellow VFW members are saving others.

I hear many veterans lament the loss of comradery and purpose that military service once provided. Our purpose was always service, and the VFW embodies that well — 1st Sgt. Travis Baker understands that more than most and says to his fellow veterans, “Give the VFW a try. It might be what saves you.”

Baker has now been promoted from post commander to district commander, and he and his post work hard to help veterans and the community. His schedule for the next few days is packed. An Army MP unit is returning from deployment, and Baker’s VFW post is helping with short-term needs, providing bedding and other supplies to returning soldiers whose belongings are trapped in storage. The post runs blood drives. They deliver hundreds of holiday food boxes to those in need. They’ve helped homeless veterans raise their VA disability level to secure more assistance and have even helped some secure housing. His VFW post is open on Thanksgiving and Christmas, offering free meals, regardless of whether or not diners served, and Baker will volunteer to dish the food.

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“You don’t seem retired,” I told him. He laughed.

Trent Reedy, author of several books including Enduring Freedom, served as a combat engineer in the Iowa National Guard from 1999 to 2005, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

*Some names and call signs in this story may have been changed due to operational security or privacy concerns.