Virginia Beach, Va. - A 91-year-old World War II veteran had a new mission: He wanted to NewsChannel 3 to find a special employee at a Virginia Beach business who helped him in such an important way. It was important for him to honor her.
So we met Willie Hudson at Connect Hearing off Kempsriver Drive where we found Patricia Crombie.
We told her we were at her job because of an email from Hudson. He read a portion of it.
"I wear hearing aids and it is very important that I have them in case of an emergency."
He was having problems and first went to the place where he bought them, only to be told new ones would cost him $ 7,000. Hudson then went to Connect Hearing.
"I met with Patricia Crombie and she told me they did not sell those kinds of hearing aids, but she would clean them and see if she could fix them."
There was no charge for the veteran. In fact, Patricia has on numerous visits helped him with changing batteries, cleaning his hearing aids and doing check-ups, all for free.
It's not just what Patricia has done for Hudson, but what she has done for his wife as well. He is her primary caregiver as she is battling dementia and he needs to be able to hear her and respond in case of an emergency.
Hudson nearly broke down in tears as he continued to read his email. "This woman has been so helpful and a blessing to me and my wife. She helped me when others would not. I hope you choose her for the "People Taking Action" award.
I don't know what I would have done without her help. We need more people to step up and help, like Patricia and I really mean that."
For Patricia, getting to know Hudson has turned into a living history lesson. "He was in the Battle of Normandy!"
This was her way of honoring this veteran, taking action for him.
We presented her with a People Taking Action Award along with a $300 Visa gift card from our community partner Southern Bank.
