Few lives in the local veterans community have been left untouched in some way by Robert Chandler.
Chandler, himself a Vietnam veteran, has been working to ensure area vets have their needs met in any way he can. An active member of the American Legion Post 236 in Calvert City, Chandler has been responsible for taking care of his brethren for many years, often times out of his own pocket.
Post Commander Robert Zirkle said he’d gotten to know Chandler throughout the last five years, and in that time the two had grown very close.
“I’m not an easy person to get to know,” Zirkle said. “… Robert’s as close to me as my brother is; that’s how I feel about him.”
Zirkle said Chandler drove the veterans van, transporting local veterans to and from the VA hospital in Marion, Ill. While Chandler could be reimbursed, Zirkle said Chandler often paid expenses from his own pocket. Zirkle said he’d witnessed Chandler reach out to those struggling around him, most recently assisting a post member whose family fell on difficult times.
“She’s had a pretty tough time,” Zirkle said. “So, Robert has gone out of his way to help her out financially, and … things like that. He’ll pretty much stop what he’s doing if you need help, and he’ll jump right in there and do it.”
In addition to transporting local veterans, Chandler is active in arranging Memorial Day, Flag Day and Veterans Day ceremonies at the Veterans Memorial Plaza at Mike Miller Park and Benton Memorial Plaza. He often serves as master of ceremonies, speaking to those in attendance about the sacrifices of U.S. soldiers as a reminder of the important role of those Armed Services members and veterans in citizens’ lives.
Chandler serves as a post chaplain, as well, conducting Honor Guard funeral services and counseling family in that role. Selflessness, Zirkle said, is a common trait among post members, and Chandler is a model example.
“There’s people here at the post who will … go out of our way to do stuff,” Zirkle said. “But we do it because we want to it’s not because we have to or we’re expecting praise for it. And that’s pretty much what Robert does. He doesn’t do it to be praised, he does the things he does because it’s the right thing to do. … I wish there were more people like him.”
Longtime friend Jimmie Tubbs agreed. Tubbs said Chandler made it a habit to reach out to others in the community to let them know they were appreciated. Each week, he said Chandler and his wife Marilyn visit residents of the Stilley House and other area assisted living or long-term care facilities to sing, play guitar and visit with residents.
Tubbs said Chandler had struggled with his own health in recent years, but despite his challenges he continued his activities to help those around him.
“Whatever he can do to help somebody, he’ll do it,” Tubbs said. “… He likes doing stuff for people … and he’s always laughing, having fun and joking with people. He’s just a real nice guy.”
Chandler has a strong devotion to his faith, as well, and serves as preacher at New Hope Primitive Baptist Church. That focus on faith was something former General Tire co-worker and friend of 40 years Johnny Ingram said he admired. Ingram said Chandler had been known to preach to other congregations that needed his services.
“You could look the world over and never find a better man than Robert Chandler,” Ingram said. “… When I worked with him, every Sunday or every other Sunday, one he’d preach … for here in Benton. The other one, he’d drive all the way to Sacremento, Kentucky, that’s up the other side of Madisonville; him and his family would go up there, and he would preach. It was mostly elderly people that didn’t have a preacher. … He didn’t ask for anything. He was just doing it because they needed him.”
Ingram said Chandler was a good friend and godly man, who worked tirelessly to help those around him. Moreover, he said Chandler did so with a positive attitude, despite his own struggles.
“For a man in his health, I just don’t know how he does what he does, but he’ll manage some way or another to do it,” Ingram said. “He won’t turn you down … for nothing in the world, whether he feels like it or not. … And he’d never, never – he said, ‘They might take a lot from him, but they’d never take that smile.’ He’s always smiling.”
Ingram said Chandler was not only altruistic, he was a generous and humble man, too.
“He cares about people,” Ingram added. “He served in the Armed Forces, in the Army. He never had a whole lot, but he didn’t want a whole lot. He had enough to satisfy him. … You know he’d always give to other people on the side of the road if they needed it, or in the parking lots (people) carrying signs that they needed help. If he had $20 in his pocket, they’d get it all. He’s just a good man.”