Hometown Heroes - Steve Ek
Vietnam veteran
LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - It was the mid-1960s and the war in Vietnam was escalating. Steve Ek was sent there as an officer and quickly found himself in charge of a unit fighting the Viet Cong.
“We were constantly patrolling day and night to keep them off balance so that the opportunity for them to attack us was minimalized and the opportunity for us to attack them was maximized,” recalled Ek.
The lessons learned in his 7 years as a Marine helped Steve later, when he became a special agent with the FBI.
“One, the Marine Corps taught me leadership. Two, how to deal with people. All kinds of people. So that was a valuable experience.”
Ek is heavily involved with the Kiwanis Club of Lake Charles and has chaired the Coats for Kids project for many years.
“Any coat of any size, from infant to adult, we will take it. Those coats will be cleaned and dispersed to agencies that distribute to the poor.”
For almost 30 years now, the Coats for Kids project has brought in almost 29,000 coats to those who need them. The kickoff is set for late October.
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