Iowa WWII veteran known as ‘The Drummer’ shares gift of music this holiday season
By Ben Kaplan
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MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (KCCI) — Music is magic for the soul, whether it’s listening to it, dancing to it or making it. A WWII veteran living at the Iowa Veterans Home lives for it.
Vaughn Hauser is almost 99 years old and doesn’t miss a beat.
“I just like music,” Hauser told KCCI.
It’s a gift to find satisfaction in the simplest of things.
When Hauser has his drumsticks in his hands, life really can’t get any better.
“It’s a little easier than having somebody, you know, the trumpets and stuff,” Hauser said.
The Urbana, Iowa, native is now known simply as “The Drummer” throughout the Iowa Veterans Home.
He has a residency this holiday season at a table in the Ulery Building at the Iowa Veterans Home.
Hauser and his bandmate, activity assistant Jim Coppoc, sing, strum and drum away.
“Folks just know me as the music guy,” Hauser said.
“I’ve played with a lot of drummers, and Vaughn is rock solid,” Coppoc said.
According to Hauser’s oldest son, the Purple Heart recipient has always had music coursing through his veins.
“That’s my grandfather, who wasn’t a musician but loved music and got all his boys involved. That’s dad. There’s my uncle,” Greg Hauser said, pointing to pictures hanging on his dad’s wall.
Hauser played in a band into his 90s.
“It never leaves him,” Greg said.
And hopefully, never will.
“These activities are intended to be not therapy, but therapeutic. The activities are intended to help people reminisce,” Coppoc told KCCI.
Hauser clearly hasn’t forgotten how to work the crowd.
“If they’re clapping, I like to listen to that,” he said with a smile.
He is as willing as ever to share his gift — a simple thing that brings everyone so much joy.
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