A Manitowoc veteran that volunteered to go overseas to help defend Ukraine from the current Russian invasion is sharing his experiences.
According to NBC 26 Green Bay News, Barry Nelson was a real estate broker from Manitowoc before he made the decision to go and help the Ukrainian war effort. While he was at the Ukraine/Poland border, the 23-year Army veteran got an idea of how he would do that.
Nelson drove a van transporting people and crucial supplies between Poland and Ukraine to support the war effort, a service he has jokingly named War Uber, which has its own Facebook page that serves as a journal of Nelson’s experiences.
“A lot of Ukrainian men were handed rifles for defense, well they’re wearing in some cases tracksuits and Adidas, you know, with just a piece of blue tape and an AK defending,” Nelson told NBC News. “They need boots, great, so [there are a] couple different department stores I knew of, [and] I would start walking through them, looking for quality boots.”
Nelson used his rented van to transport refugees and soldiers. He recounted a moment that stood out for him.
“There’s this at least 80-year-old lady sitting on this broken white outdoor furniture chair in this middle of this abyss of people,” Nelson told NBC News. “I kind of gave her my elbow, walked her to the van, not to this mass transit deal, you know, almost like a limousine for her. You can just see, she gave me just the briefest little smile. I’m like, ‘That’s why we’re here, right?’ Like, we restore dignity to this lady.”
NBC 26 News reports that Nelson is planning to return to Ukraine to help. With the help of Wisconsin Ukrainians, War Uber is expanding and this time, Nelson’s buying a minibus.
