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This Veteran Makes Canes for Other Patriots Using Discarded Wood

Jamie Willis, founder of Canes for Veterans Central Texas, finds a sense of purpose in serving his veteran brothers and sisters.

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An accident early in Jamie Willis’s Army career left him in chronic pain and needing the support of a cane. In searching for a sturdy and cool cane, he found Oscar Morris, a Navy veteran who makes canes out of discarded wood. Morris encouraged Willis to make his own cane out of a Christmas tree. He liked the finished result so much he made another cane, and then another, giving them away and forming Canes for Veterans Central Texas in the process. Serving his veteran brothers and sisters gives Willis a sense of purpose.

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Jaime Willis joined the Army as a cavalry scout in 1989. He loved it and thought he’d serve 20 years, but a vehicle accident during Operation Desert Storm eventually forced him to medically retire.


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The VA gave Willis aluminum canes, which broke easily, and according to him, kept him from finding work. “People thought I couldn’t do anything.”

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In 2016, Willis found Oscar Morris, a Navy veteran and furniture restorer, who uses found wood to make canes for veterans. Willis had never as much as whittled before Morris talked him through the process over Facebook Messenger.


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Proud of his work, Willis grabbed another discarded Christmas tree from his neighborhood’s curb and tried again. His second cane was also a success. He didn’t have to look far for a recipient—Willis lives near Fort Hood, one of the largest military communities in the U.S. 


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Confident in his cane-making skills, Willis created the Canes for Veterans Central Texas Facebook page and started taking orders. He gives the canes away, but accepts money to cover shipping.

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Willis and Canes for Veterans Central Texas went viral last year, when a local news station’s story about the project got picked up nationally. The attention brought in donations of more than 1,500 Christmas trees, as well as epoxy, sandpaper and other supplies.

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Before the media whirlwind, Willis made two to three canes a month, as weather permitted him to keep his garage open. Now friends and family volunteer along an assembly line.

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Willis made a cane for Joseph Galloway, the reporter who co-wrote We Were Soldiers Once … and Young with late Lt. Gen. Harold Moore, about the 1965 Battle of la Drang. The gentlemen are heroes to the cavalry community.

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