Frank’s Heroes Offers Free Guitar Lessons and Fun to Local Veterans

Vietnam veteran Ron Wunderlich was strumming his guitar to the song "A Horse with No Name" while five other vets played along and sang.

It's another Saturday morning for the charity Frank's Heroes, a local outreach that provides free guitar lessons for vets, along with coffee and doughnuts, in the basement of the United Methodist Church on First Capitol Drive in St. Charles.

Founder Bill Dennis had a heart for veterans and music, according to his widow, Barb Dennis. The effort began in 2013 and has helped 50-60 vets learn guitar.

"Bill played guitar since he was 12 years old," Barb says. "It was his desire to give something back. I think he felt a calling to do something of the sort."

The lessons are given by longtime musician John Baker, who studied classical guitar at Washington University and has played in several local bands through the years, including currently a group called FOG, which stands for "Four Old Guys."

Baker, 75, says playing guitar is good for the mind and the soul.

"It makes your mind sharp," Baker says. "You're learning how to play all these different chords and what all the different notes are, and you learn how to read music. And for some of these guys, I think it's an escape from some of the things that they've experienced, especially if they've been in Vietnam or Iraq or someplace like that."

Among the students who saw action, Wunderlich served in Vietnam as a Navy Seabee, a construction unit that built forward bases while also fighting in combat. He got there in 1968 just before the Tet Offensive, a large-scale surprise attack by the North Vietnamese against forces of South Vietnam allied with U.S. troops.

"I got there two weeks before the Tet," Wunderlich says. "That was a party you needed to miss."

After the war, Wunderlich took a job piloting boats going up and down the Mississippi River. The years went by and now he's retired. Only recently did he decide to learn guitar. It helps him relax, he says.

"With guitar, you have to really be thinking about it and concentrating, and the rest of the world just goes away," Wunderlich says. "So, it's a relief and all your other cares of life just disappear for a short time."

Another Vietnam veteran taking the free guitar lessons is Juan Ramirez. He enjoys the fun and the comradery of the group.

"You know, a bunch of guys reminds me again of being in the service and working with each other-without a war."

The longest strumming member of the group is Vietnam-era veteran Ralph Moore. He started taking guitar lessons with Frank's Heroes in 2016. He also sings for the group while they all play.

"Music soothes the savage beast," Moore says.

Also retired, Moore had a successful career in education, serving 19 years in the Ferguson-Florissant School District, and retiring as the principal of Cool Valley Elementary School.

"My wife saw an article in the paper about Frank's Heroes and told me to sign up," Moore says. "So that's what I did!"

The free lessons include sheet music. You can bring your own acoustic guitar, or one can be provided. The lessons take place Saturday mornings from 10-11:30 in the church basement at 801 First Capitol Drive.

The name of the group, Frank's Heroes, is a tribute to the founder's father, Frank Dennis.

To register, please contact Barb Dennis at 314-479-5750.

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