Veteran's son hails him after he dies delivering medicine amid Texas floods: 'He was a hero'
BURNET COUNTY, TEXAS: An army veteran reportedly lost his life while delivering medicine amid Texas floods, his son William Venus Jr and officials have said.
William Govaniavic Venus was discovered dead on Monday, July 7, nearly a quarter mile from his car, Burnet County Sheriff's Office Captain Mike Sorenson revealed to PEOPLE on July 8.
The captain also shared that William was one among at least five people who died in Burnet County due to devastating floodwaters.
William Govaniavic Venus called ‘a hero’ by his son
The 57-year-old’s son revealed that he served in the army for over three decades.
Venus Jr said, “He was in Desert Storm,” as he noted that the father-of-four was also part of other operations in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan before his retirement as a command sergeant major.
The 34-year-old also noted that his father “was a servant to whatever community he found himself in. It didn't matter where he was.”
“He was a hero. God would have been better off taking me because he had a whole lot more work he could have done in this world,” Venus Jr added.
William Venus Jr had asked people to look for his father before his death was confirmed
Besides, an Army spokesperson also reportedly confirmed that William was an army man, who worked as a senior maintenance supervisor in the regular Army from July 1987 to July 2017.
He won several awards, including three Bronze Star Medals.
This came after William’s son had shared a post on Facebook, urging people to find his father after he went missing.
He wrote, “MISSING: Please Help Me Find My Dad! My dad is missing in the Texas flood zone, specifically Burnet, TX. He's one of the 5 unnamed missing in Burnet (last known location: 711 S Water St. Burnet, TX 78611).”
Rescue workers describe flooding as ‘a nightmare’
This came as Kerr County in Texas is reportedly the worst impacted area due to the floods. As per Governor Greg Abbott, at least 161 people have gone missing since the natural disaster hit.
One of the rescue volunteers, named Tim, who’s been working in the Kerrville area revealed to BBC, “I've done the floods down in East Texas and Southeast Texas, and hurricanes, and this is a nightmare.”
Another volunteer, named Justin, added, “There's a wide trail of destruction for miles, and there's not enough cadaver dogs to go through all of it. It's hard to access a lot of it with heavy machinery. Guys are trying to pick at it with tools and hands, and they're not even putting a dent in it – not for lack of effort.”
