After pushing himself backward, veteran moves forward with new wheelchair

U.S. Army veteran Brian Dett (left) learns about his new motorized scooter from Robert Charland (middle) and U.S. Marine veteran Bob Costello (left).
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet

CHICOPEE — U.S. Army veteran Brian Dett will once again have an easier time moving around Chicopee after he was gifted a motorized scooter on April 21, thanks to a collaborative effort that included Robert Charland, better known as Bob “The Bike Man.”

Dett, who served from 1978-1982, has faced serious challenges including limited mobility, unstable housing and limited income. Dett’s previous motorized wheelchair broke down a few years ago, and he could not afford a new one.

This forced Dett to occasionally use his feet to glide backwards in his regular wheelchair.

Thanks to a group effort between Paul Rogers, Jerry Loubier, John Baker, U.S. Marine Veteran Bob Costello, Christian DiLuzio and Charland, Dett received a new motorized scooter to assist his mobility.

Rogers recalled seeing Dett in the winter using his feet to glide backwards in his wheelchair. He knew he wanted to try to help Dett and reached out to Loubier and Baker to brainstorm.

“This means so much to me,” Dett said to Costello after receiving the new scooter.

Charland explained that the motorized scooter became available after 92-year-old Marine veteran Bob Costello came to the Hamden County Jail in his full dress uniform, looking to donate his late wife’s power wheelchair to another veteran.

“He really wanted this chair to go to another veteran,” Charland said. “It was just a collaboration of less than 24 hours to make this happen. For this marine to show up and do what we do best, help people. It’s quite an emotional moment to be able to do something like this for somebody in this kind of turnaround.”

Charland works with the Triad program in the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, which primarily deals with seniors, people with special needs and veterans. Charland said he also attends monthly meetings where veterans’ service officers get together to talk about the needs of local veterans.

Charland connected with DiLuzio, who is the Western Region Liaison from the Office of the Veteran Advocate. The same day that Charland picked up the motorized wheelchair, DiLuzio reached out to him to let him know about Dett.

“It was amazing timing for it to happen,” Charland stated. “This is helping this army veteran from a marine, and it’s also fulfilling something for this marine. That wheelchair belonged to his wife before she passed. It’s going to be closure for him, but he also knows that it’s going to serve somebody else.”

Charland spoke to the sheriff and was able to get a pickup truck to pick up Costello and deliver the scooter in style. Costello was at the gifting of the motorized scooter on April 21. Charland said when Costello showed up at the jail in his full uniform, he had just left his wife’s funeral.

“Just knowing with all the budget cuts of so many different programs, I’m still able to come up with ways to serve not just veterans, but people in the community,” Charland said. “There’s a lot of red tape at times with getting stuff from the VA [Veterans Affairs]. With us, if we have it in stock, there’s no red tape. If you need it and you can prove that you’re a veteran with your DV-214 discharge papers, we’re going to make it happen.”

Charland concluded with a message to the community after helping Dett.

“Look out for your seniors, look out for your veterans. Make sure there’s enough money in programs and maybe a lot less red tape. I mean, [Dett’s] wheelchair had been down for almost five years. He can barely walk, and the VA wasn’t providing one. I’m not saying anything negative about the VA; there are issues that are preventing people from getting the items that they need in a timely fashion, and … veterans shouldn’t be waiting.”

Once the pictures were taken, Dett immediately took his new gift on a trip around Chicopee.