For decades, 94-year-old Army veteran Chester Hopper has been the one helping others — serving his country overseas, working as a contractor back home and firing up his grill to feed fellow veterans and people throughout Milwaukee.
Watch Gideon's story in the video player below:
On Wednesday, Hopper found himself in an unfamiliar position. He was the one being helped.
Crews climbed onto the roof of Hopper's Milwaukee home and began tearing away layers of old shingles as part of a community effort to give the Korean War veteran a new roof at no cost to him.
Hopper expected a small crew.
"I was expecting two or three people," Hopper said. "I got a whole army."
For an Army veteran, the choice of words seemed especially fitting.
From Mississippi to the Korean War
Hopper said he grew up in Mississippi and had only been in the Milwaukee area for about two years before entering the military.
He joined the U.S. Army at about 18 years old.
"I wanted to go and do something different," Hopper said.
He eventually served during the Korean War as a medic, helping wounded soldiers.
More than seven decades later, some of what he witnessed remains vivid.
"People calling their mother and their father and you know," Hopper recalled. "And I can see them in the evening. Young men calling for their mother, their father, their aunts and uncles."
"Those memories still stay with you," he said.
But service did not end for Hopper when he came home.
Known for his corn and ribs
Hopper eventually became a contractor and continued finding ways to help people in Milwaukee.
One of those ways involved food.
Hopper talked proudly about the barbecue equipment he built and the meals he prepared for veterans over the years.
"I used to do a lot of barbecue for the, for the, for the veterans, and we've been to every park in town," Hopper said.
He said people in the neighborhood came to know him for his cooking.
"They all know me by my corn and ribs," Hopper said.
When asked where his desire to help others came from, Hopper pointed back to his childhood and the example set by his grandparents.
"From my grandfather and grandmother," Hopper said. "They didn't teach me that. I was watching them."
That example followed him through the military, his work as a contractor and his years helping other veterans.
The contractor who could no longer fix his own roof
Hopper has lived in his Milwaukee home for nearly 40 years.
And this wasn't the first roof he had dealt with.
Hopper said he once put a roof on the house himself roughly 20 years ago.
But at 94, the former contractor knows there are some jobs he can no longer safely tackle.
The roof had been leaking, squirrels were getting inside and the house needed significant work.
"I was wondering how it was going to get done," Hopper said.
He still has the tools.
"I got ladders in the basement. I got, I got all the equipment to do the job," Hopper said.
What has changed is his ability to use them.
"I want to work," Hopper said, explaining that his body no longer allows him to do everything he once could.
That's where a network of people and organizations stepped in.
How the project came together
Mark Finnegan, president and co-founder of VetsRoll Inc., said people connected to Hopper's neighborhood reached out looking for help.
That request eventually grew into a collaboration involving VetsRoll, Apex General Contracting, Owens Corning and others.
Apex General Contracting donated the labor for the roof replacement. Owens Corning provided roofing materials through its Roof Deployment Project.
The Roof Deployment Project began in 2016 and, according to Owens Corning representative Erin Gnutek, has helped install more than 850 roofs for veterans across the country.
The work at Hopper's home turned out to be extensive.
Roger Turner with Apex General Contracting said crews found four layers of shingles and areas that needed new decking and other repairs. Turner estimated the work would normally cost more than $20,000.
"It's a lot of work that's going to be involved here," Turner said.
But for Turner, the project was about much more than replacing shingles.
"He's one of the most deserving people I've ever met," Turner said. "He's sacrificed a lot, and just a good heart and a good soul, just a, just a great person. So I'm super happy we can do this for him."
'There are still people in the community ... that care'
Gnutek said projects like Hopper's allow companies and contractors to give something tangible back to veterans.
"It's great because it's a win for everyone because this veteran who has given so much for our country gets a new roof and we get to get involved with them and help them," Gnutek said.
For Finnegan, the new roof also sends Hopper a message.
"And I think it means a lot to folks like the Hoppers to know there's still people in the community that are total strangers that care," Finnegan said. "We care what you did. We care what you're still doing."
Finnegan said walking through Hopper's home helped him understand the life behind the project.
"The walls are telling a story when you walk in there," Finnegan said.
He described seeing Hopper's family history and reminders of his military service throughout the home.
"You can't help but fall in love with him," Finnegan said.
Even on his day, Chester wanted to serve
As crews worked above him Wednesday, Hopper watched from his porch.
For someone accustomed to fixing things himself, that wasn't necessarily easy.
Asked what made the moment emotional, Hopper pointed to all of the people working around him.
"All these people helping me," he said, "and then I can't do nothing, sit on the porch and ... watch them."
But it didn't take long for the 94-year-old to find another job for himself.
He started thinking about his grill.
"I said I should go get me some ribs and put on there," Hopper said.
Even while strangers were replacing his roof for free, Hopper was thinking about what he could do for them.
It is a simple instinct that appears to have followed him from his grandparents, to the Army, to Milwaukee parks and now to the front porch of the home where he has spent nearly four decades.
"Everybody needs a hand," Hopper said. "Whether this way or that way, you know."
On Wednesday, after a lifetime of extending his hand to others, a whole army showed up to extend one back.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
