These veterans aren’t letting the pandemic stop them from getting together

Every Monday morning since 2001, a group of veterans in California has met up for conversation and camaraderie, but in the face of the pandemic, the group has had to get creative in order to stay connected. 

Wings Over Wendy’s is a “group of veterans, veteran supporters, aviation and military aficionados that honors all veterans past and present.” The group got its start at the West Hills Wendy’s Restaurant and then moved to the Woodland Hills Wendy’s before eventually growing so large that they group started holding meet-ups in a true meeting hall – the Auditorium at 7401 Shoup Ave.,  in West Hills, CA.

It gives veterans and the like an opportunity to get out of the house,” Ed Reynolds, organizer of Wings Over Wendys said.

For three weeks, the meetings were forced to a halt due to the COVID pandemic and the social distancing guidelines, but this week, Reynolds decided to master the art of Zoom and get the gang back together again, reported ABC 11.

“I spent this last week trying to learn Zoom” Reynolds admitted. 

“I wanna thank Ed for keeping us together as a unit,” said one of the members during the groups’ first Zoom meeting. 

“[The Zoom meeting] says ‘look, we’re still here, we’re still alive, we’re upright… so we’re all pretty happy. You can see it in their smiles,”  said Bob Donavan, a Wings Over Wendy’s member. 

“Look, if you couldn’t shoot them down with a German 88, coronavirus is not gonna take these guys out of the fight,” Donavan added.