COVID Ends Life of Decorated Veteran: Harry Shaw
San Antonio, Texas – Army Sgt. Harry E. Shaw of Kerrville, Texas passed away Friday August 13, 2021 from complications of Covid-19. Sgt. Shaw lost both legs and half of his small intestine from combat wounds. Sgt. Shaw was about to receive financial support to modify and maintain his family home. His unexpected death and lack of financial assistance may now lead to his wife, Ginny, and his special needs daughter, losing the home. Adapt A Vet has launched this fundraising campaign to help Sgt. Shaw’s family maintain their standard of living and stay in their home.
Adapt A Vet Director of Operations Michael Cotugno praised Sgt. Shaw as an extraordinary warrior and a selfless patriot. “We met Harry 5 years ago when he applied for an adaptive housing grant with Adapt A Vet. We were 4 weeks from starting Harry’s home adaptation in Bandera, TX when Hurricane Harvey hit Port Aransas. Harry
contacted me to see if we could bring equipment and cleaning supplies down to the Texas Coast to help his fellow Veterans. He said he wanted to wait on his adaptation and said that he wanted us to use the funds set aside for him to help his fellow Veterans and VFW Post 8967 in Port Aransas. He was a role model for so many other Veterans who experienced similar situations. I spent a lot of time with Harry and considered him a friend.”
Harry was a highly decorated Veteran having been awarded the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for valor. He was part of the Army’s storied 82nd Airborne. In 2010, despite his disabilities, Sgt. Shaw made his 33rd parachute jump!
Harry had been deployed during Grenada combat operations in October of 1983. Under intense fire, Harry suffered life-theatening wounds, but survived despite a very long rehabilitation. He medically retired in June 1984 and went on to earn a bachelor and a masters degree.
We ask you to kindly consider supporting the family of this hero who defended the American way of life with honor and bravery. Our enemies could not silence him. Sadly, COVID-19 did.
About Adapt A Vet : Adapt A Vet is a Veteran-focused non-profit organization that collaborates with community construction partners, area Veteran Service Organizations (VSO) and other community organizations. The goal is to serve Veterans who meet Adapt A Vet’s eligibility criteria and make critical home adaptations that increase quality of life, independence, safety, and self-sufficiency of the Veteran.
The mission of Adapt A Vet: Our focus is to improve quality of life of Veterans and their families through home adaptations. We address the unmet needs of disabled Veterans and help them to live full and fruitful lives through our compassionate and respectful adaptation process so that the Veterans can experience what freedom feels like in their own home. These modifications build a sense of self-sufficiency within the Veteran, which creates a reduction of stress and struggles that minimizes the thoughts of divorce or suicide.