Still Serving: Strength and Brotherhood at the Bonner Springs Y
Content warning: This story and the podcast episode include discussion of combat, PTSD and suicide. If you’re a veteran in crisis, or worried about one, call 988 and press 1, or text 838255.
Three mornings a week, Ken Bennett and Mike Angel walk through the Bonner Springs Family YMCA. Pat greets them by name at the front desk. Mike settles in with a handful of regulars to talk about life, faith and the news of the day. Ken walks laps, and every time he passes, he says, “Morning, Mike.”
It looks like an ordinary morning at the Y. For two veterans who have carried a lot since coming home, the routine means much more.
In this month’s episode of The Movement podcast, YMCA of Greater Kansas City President and CEO Mark Hulet sits down with Ken and Mike to talk about their service, what veterans carry long after the uniform comes off, and why a community built on mind, body, and spirit has become part of how they heal.
Two generations, one choice
Mike graduated from Washington High School in 1965. As the war in Vietnam ramped up, he and five classmates joined the Marine Corps together. He was 18 for his entire year in combat with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines near the DMZ.
Ken joined the Army in 1978, straight out of high school. He left briefly, missed it, and went back in 1983. He built a career in communications and networking, served in Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Panama and Bosnia, and retired as a Master Sergeant in 2001. He then spent roughly two more decades supporting the military as a contractor and Department of Defense civilian.
Both men chose to serve. Both say the same thing kept them going: the people beside them.
What comes home with you
Mike left the Marines in 1968 and came home to a country that didn’t want to hear about the war. “They told us literally to take off your uniform, go home, and forget about the war,” he said. “Well, that’s easier said than done.”
He talks openly about Agent Orange, which was in the air and in the water, and about the many friends he has lost to its effects. He remembers a day during Operation Hastings in July 1966, when he watched a helicopter carrying fellow Marines go down in flames. He still carries their names in his wallet on a worn piece of paper. When the traveling Vietnam Wall came to Tonganoxie this fall, he made rubbings of them.
Ken speaks to the weight of service in a later era: constant stress, dangerous materials, time away from family and the lasting burden of decisions made in combat. “None of this goes away,” he said. His advice to fellow veterans is direct: “Definitely talk to somebody.”
For Mike, healing came slowly, through faith and years of serving others as a pastor. “You never forget the things that you saw,” he said. The sound of a helicopter overhead can still take him right back.
Why the Y
Ken lives near Fort Leavenworth and could work out on base for free. He drives to Bonner Springs instead. “I have choices,” he said. “I choose to come to the YMCA just because of people like Mike. The staff is great here.”
Mike has been coming since about 2016. Health issues keep him from strenuous exercise, so he relies on the warm pool and instructors Peggy and Marla. Ken pairs activity classes with pool time that eases his lower back. Program coordinator Rebecca plans bingo and fun nights, and members come together to share a meal on the last Tuesday of every month.
But the equipment isn’t what keeps them coming back. “You could double the facilities and programs and take the people out, and I’m out,” Ken said. For Mike, the Y has become “a holy habit.” He needs it physically, he said, but also mentally, spiritually and socially.
Mike calls it friendship therapy. Veterans find each other, whether by a Marine Corps shirt, a VFW cap, or the guy who’s always early. Then they tell their stories. “That’s part of the whole healing thing,” Ken said. “Not to feel alone.”
Mike points to John 17:21, the verse long tied to the YMCA emblem, and its hope that all may be one. “I would call it a family,” he said. “A YMCA family.”
An open invitation
Ken is already recruiting. A fellow veteran from his VFW circle and his wife started coming a couple of months ago. His message to any veteran unsure where they belong: “Come on, let’s go to the Y. Go with me.”
He quickly adds that this isn’t only about older veterans. “What about the soldier getting out tomorrow? They’re gonna be dealing with the same stuff.”
Mike, who turns 79 this year, plans to keep showing up as long as he can. “I love the Y,” he said.
A place for you
This November, veterans and their families get 50% off YMCA membership. It’s our way of saying thank you, and an easy first step for any veteran who’s been thinking about walking through our doors.
And the support doesn’t end in November. Through Operation Salute, veterans and their families save up to 40% on membership every day of the year, based on rank. Learn more or visit a location near you.
If you’re a veteran who’s struggling, or you’re worried about one, you don’t have to carry it alone. The Veterans Crisis Line is available 24/7: dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.