By Meghann Sepulveda, Special for wranglernews.com
After 53 years, it’s still hard for Robert Shook to talk about the friends he lost in Vietnam. The 82-year-old Mesa resident and Vietnam War veteran vividly remembers when those seven soldiers died in combat.
On Nov. 13, Robert honored their lives during the 9th Annual Veteran’s Day 5K at Kiwanis Park.
But it was more than that. Last December, his cardiologist instructed him to start exercising.
“At first I wasn’t able to walk a short distance around the block in my neighborhood,” Shook said. “But I was determined to be stronger so I could get my life back.”
Shook enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1956 and served as a B-52 bomber mechanic. Ten years later, he joined the U.S. Army and attended flight school, eventually becoming a helicopter inspector.
During the Vietnam War, he completed two tours of duty and was among the last 3,000 troops to leave the country in 1973.
He retired five years later, in 1978, and then continued a career in the aviation industry.
“I worked at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa with the design and inspection teams for the development of the Apache helicopter,” Shook said. “I also spent time at the Lufthansa Aviation Training facility in Goodyear and in Oklahoma as an FAA aircraft accident investigator.”
His whirlwind career took him around the country with 29 moves, but he eventually retired and settled back in Arizona in 2014. He and his wife Anne wanted to be close to their daughters and grandchildren.
Navigating loss and grief
Robert and Anne were married for 62 years before Anne passed away in March 2020 from Alzheimer’s disease. After losing the love of his life, Robert felt lost. His health was becoming compromised.
So every day after that visit with his cardiologist, he walked. Shook’s grandson Connor gave him a Garmin watch to track his mileage.
“I walk about three miles a day,” Shook said. “Sometimes, I walk six.”
During the summer months, Shook walked at midnight when it was cooler.
“Exercise not only improved my health, but it also helped my grief process,” he said.
During his 22-years of military service, Shook was required to maintain a healthy physique. It wasn’t until later in life that he fully understood the health benefits of exercise.
“Exercise was an important function for my job in the military,” he said. “Now I know that I need to do it for myself.”
Shook now is able to do chores around the house and recently even painted a room in his daughter Diane’s Tempe home.
Diane, a longtime South Tempe resident, said that she’s happy he’s in a good place.
Every year, Diane, her son Connor, and his wife Kendra, participate in the Veteran’s Day 5K, which donates a portion of its proceeds to Team Red, White & Blue, a nonprofit organization forging America’s leading health and wellness community for veterans.
This year, they had one more generation join them. Veterans Day was about more than honoring colleague’s lives lost. It also was about saving a life: His.
Shook completed the 3.2 miles with gratitude for overcoming his physical challenges and becoming a healthier version of himself. He was thankful for the opportunity to pay tribute to the comrades he lost.
“We no longer have to worry,” she said. “He’s doing great.”
