VFW sign is a labor of love

He’s a veteran, he’s a patriot, and he’s a craftsman.

For the past several days, under the blazing sun, Larry Olsen has installed a broken down sign for a local VFW post.

“I was in Vietnam, Korea and Germany,” Olsen said.

He is a member of VFW Post 812.

“It’s open to veterans who have served in the war zone,” Olsen told ABC-7.

The post is nestled near McKelligon Canyon tucked away from any main road, but there was a problem.

“I got tired of this sign laying on the ground every time I went to VFW,” Olsen said.

The sign had been broken for some time and Olsen found it in himself to do something about it.

“Remove it, clean it up, paint it … weld the broken frame,” Olsen told ABC-7.

He even went as far as laying concrete to keep the sign up.

“I put a little concrete it’s about 13 inches,” Olsen said.

For Olsen it wasn’t work.

“I felt like I’d enjoy doing this and I did,” Olsen said.

Besides, the sign points to one of his favorite places in this city.

“It’s what I call … a well-kept secret but it’s a wonderful place to go in the afternoon and be with your Army buddies,” Olsen said.

Slowly but surely — and even with a little help from an ABC-7 photographer, who’s also a veteran — the sign went up.

“A few days ago we didn’t even have a sign (and) now we have one,” Olsen said.

“Best thing I ever did was join the Army and the best thing I ever did when I got to El Paso was joining VFW Post 812. It’s a great place,” Olsen said.

Olsen came to the area in 1958 and he was on active duty living in El Paso from 1962 through 1982.