The Air Force's winner of the Spirit of Hope award, an annual Defense Department honor for service to country, found out he was nominated after he retired.
"This award was a surprise to me," retired Tech Sgt. Victor Pulido III said when he was presented the award Dec. 12 at the Pentagon.
The Defense Department presents the Spirit of Hope Award to one nominee from each service and the Joint Staff and to service members, entertainers, other citizens or organizations "whose patriotism and service reflect that of Bob Hope," according to a news release on the award.
Pulido retired from Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. He donated more than 292 hours to 11 community and base organizations in 2013, according to the release.
"Looking out for your Airman and working side by side regardless of your days off strengthens the wingman concept," Pulido said. "The little things you do can actually mean the biggest things to other people."
Pulido served meals to more than 460 homeless people each month, and packed along with packing and distributed distributing boxes of food and other items to a food pantry twice a month, according to the American Forces News Service.
"These [award] recipients have selflessly contributed an extraordinary amount of time, talent and resources to significantly enhance the quality of life to service members and their family members serving around the world," Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said at the ceremony.
