As a soldier in the United States Army, Honey Brook resident Marlin King served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970. However, that was not his only trip to the country in southeast Asia.

In fact, King has traveled back to Vietnam 11 times, where he has given out nearly 1,000 wheelchairs to the disabled, including three-wheeled chairs that are suitable for use on the road.

King, who uses a wheelchair himself, is well known in the community for founding King Tables in 1974. The company manufactures picnic tables and outdoor lawn furniture. His charitable effort started when King invested in another out-of-state outdoor furniture company that failed.

"When I thought about the money that I lost there, it bugged me, but one day I said, 'Lord, if I ever get that money back, I will use every dollar to help handicapped people,'" King recalled. "One day I got a check in the mail for the whole (amount I invested). I did not even know it was coming. I decided that I was going (back) to Vietnam since that what was on my mind."

His first visit to Vietnam after that was in April of 2008. With the help of his late friend Paul Pinkerton, King found a wheelchair builder in Vietnam. "(Paul) was big on helping kids, and he had his own organization called Paul's Kids. He was my contact," King explained. "We found a wheelchair manufacturer, and he designed the three-wheeled chair."

While in Vietnam, King would rent a 26-passenger bus, find a driver who spoke the language and fill the bus with wheelchairs for distribution. Some wheelchairs, including those that were modified for use by children, were give out to people who requested them on a website designed by a friend that King met while staying at a hotel in Vietnam. Other wheelchairs were given out randomly.

"We had the best time traveling and giving out chairs," King said, noting that his last visit was in 2019. "I knew that if I would not have met the people, it would not nearly have the same impact on me."

He recalled his favorite encounter, which involved meeting a young man in his 20s who was paralyzed from the waist down after an accident. The man was traveling along the side of the road in the gravel on a makeshift "scooter" made of planks and caster wheels.

"He was laying on his belly and he was pushing himself along," King said. "We stopped the bus and asked him if he had a wheelchair at home and he said, 'No, but I would love to have one of those three-wheeled ones.' He had no idea that we had them on the bus. We got him the chair and I said to him, 'You now own one.' I cannot describe his happiness."

King added that he also carried toys on the bus, which he was able to give to the young man for his children at home.

King is very modest about his charitable work, but he hopes his story will encourage others to do the same. "The only thing I am interested in is to inspire someone else to do something to help people," he stated. "It's a good thing, and it's very rewarding."