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VA nguard Month, 2002 5 prevision Hispanic Heritage 9-11 Remembered Korean War Vets Honored Disabled Veteran Entrepreneurs Hispanic Heritage 9-11 Remembered Korean War Vets Honored Disabled Veteran Entrepreneurs September/October 2002
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Page 1: Hispanic Heritage - VA.gov Home · honoring our Hispanic em-ployees and veterans during Hispanic Heritage Month. This year’s celebration and its theme—Hispanic Americans: Strength

VAnguard

Month, 2002 5

prevision

Hispanic Heritage9-11 Remembered

Korean War Vets Honored

Disabled Veteran Entrepreneurs

Hispanic Heritage9-11 Remembered

Korean War Vets Honored

Disabled Veteran Entrepreneurs

September/October 2002

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VAnguard

2 September/October 2002

Table of Contents

FeaturesHispanic Heritage Month......................................................6honoring hispanic employees and veterans

9-11 One-Year Anniversary..................................................18reflection and remembrance

DepartmentsManagement Matters......................................................................................3Outlook................................................................................................................4Introducing........................................................................................................17e-Learning.........................................................................................................17Around Headquarters...................................................................................26Medical Advances...........................................................................................29Have You Heard..............................................................................................30Honors and Awards.......................................................................................31Heroes...............................................................................................................32

On the coverThis statue of David Farragut is located indowntown Washington, D.C. Farragut, a Span-ish American, was the most famous Hispanicparticipant in the Civil War. He’s best knownfor the remark, made during battle, “Damnthe torpedoes! Full speed ahead!”

6

19

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VAnguardVA’s Employee MagazineSeptember/October 2002Vol. XLVIII, No. 7

Printed on 50% recycled paper

Editor: Lisa RespessAssistant Editor: Matt BristolPhoto Editor: Robert TurtilPublished by the Office of Public Affairs (80D)

Department of Veterans Affairs810 Vermont Ave., N.W.Washington, D.C. 20420(202) 273-5746E-mail: [email protected]/pubaff/vanguard/index.htm

Our new lookIn this issue, we introduce a new design. VAnguard had the same “look” for nearly10 years, and it was time for a facelift. We will publish the new VAnguard sixtimes a year with more pages than before and in color. We hope you’ll find theredesigned magazine better organized, easier to read and more visually appeal-ing. Look for more refinements in upcoming issues.

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September/October 2002 3

management matters

VA Ready to Fulfill Our Role in National EmergenciesAnthony J. PrincipiSecretary of Veterans Affairs

Our mission of providing backup medical services tothe Department of Defense and public health authori-ties in cases of national emergencies is vital tonational security.

On the first anniversary ofthe attacks on America, I metwith members of the Na-tional Medal of Honor Soci-ety, recipients of the nation’shighest military award forheroism. I thought abouttheir valor on the battlefieldand how their actions reflectthe true character of theAmerican spirit.

I also couldn’t helpthinking of the firefighters,police officers and emergencymedical technicians who gavetheir lives in the line of dutyexactly one year before. Theircourage and commitmentwere as heroic as any man orwoman in uniform has evershown, and there is a realparallel between their actionsand those of our Medal ofHonor recipients.

VA employees, too,showed heroic commitmentand dedication on Sept. 11,2001. On that day, VA em-ployees in New York searchedfor those who needed careand pulled them from cha-otic, surging crowds to safety.It didn’t matter if they wereveterans or not. They werehurt and they needed ourhelp.

Later, VA regional officeemployees assisted veteransand their families at Pier 94in New York and near thePentagon. And for monthsthereafter, VA experts inpost-traumatic stress disorderreached out to veterans andmembers of the public grap-pling with psychologicaltrauma.

Our nation may havebeen caught off guard by ter-ror, but I’m proud of the way

VA employees responded.September 11 taught us avaluable lesson about the im-portance of being preparedfor medical emergency.

In the year since the at-tacks, I’ve made certain ourDepartment is fully preparedto fulfill our role as a partnerin the Federal Response Plan.Our mission of providingbackup medical services tothe Department of Defenseand public health authoritiesin cases of national emergen-cies is vital to national secu-rity. As we pursue the Waron Terrorism, we must be

prepared to fulfill the respon-sibilities we are given to serveAmerica in this crisis.

An Emergency Pre-paredness Working Groupcame up with recommenda-tions to improve our abilityto respond to national disas-ters or terrorist events. Gen.Mick Kicklighter, AssistantSecretary for Policy and Plan-ning, set up a command andcontrol center for the De-partment. He and his staffhave worked closely with theOffice of Homeland Securityto draft a comprehensive na-tional strategy to respond tofuture terrorist attacks.

Today, VA is managingand strategically deployingnational pharmaceuticalcaches to provide emergencyresponders immediate access

to necessary supplies. VA em-ployees managed emergencypharmaceutical caches for theOlympics in Salt Lake City,the Super Bowl in New Or-leans, and the President’sState of the Union Address.Nearby VA medical centerpersonnel were also alerted toremain on emergency stand-by status during each event.Fortunately, our help wasn’tneeded.

We also must ensurethat we are capable of pro-viding quality care and ben-efits to veterans and depen-dents in times of national

emergency. We are alreadystockpiling enough pharma-ceuticals to provide care forour veterans should our sup-ply lines be disrupted.

We are preparing ourdoctors and nurses to meetthe new challenges heraldedby Sept. 11 by using VA’svideo network and Web re-sources to train them to dealwith chemical exposures andbiological casualties. Severalof our hospitals have rede-signed their emergency treat-ment areas and installed bio-hazard decontaminationshowers to prepare for worst-case scenarios.

Congress is consideringlegislation that will createemergency preparedness cen-ters within VA to developtraining programs, plans and

protocols to assist emergencyresponders at all levels tomeet the medical challengesposed by biological andchemical weapon attacks.

Today, we are much bet-ter prepared to resist aggres-sion than we were on Sept.11, 2001. I have made emer-gency preparedness a man-agement priority. And we areworking with the Presidentand Congress to ensure ourcare for America’s 25 millionveterans while providingemergency medical supportfor the Department of De-fense and the nation.

Ultimately, the responsi-bility to support our nationduring future emergenciesrests with you and your fel-low employees. I am confi-dent that, should we betested in the future, VA—and America—will be ingood hands.

Don’t miss your weeklyhelping of “VA News,”news for and about VAemployees delivered eachweek in a digestible 10-minute video shown dailyat 4 a.m., noon, 4 p.m.and 10 p.m. (EasternTime) over the VAKnowledge Network sat-ellite link to your facility.

Are You Watching?

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4 September/October 2002

I am delighted to introducethis special issue of VAnguardhonoring our Hispanic em-ployees and veterans duringHispanic Heritage Month.This year’s celebration and itstheme—Hispanic Americans:Strength in Unity, Faith, andDiversity—are particularlysignificant, as the results ofCensus 2000 indicate thatHispanics have become thelargest minority group in theUnited States.

In Census 2000, 281.4million residents of theUnited States and its territo-ries were counted, and 35million (or 12.5 percent) ofthose counted were of His-panic ancestry. In addition,there were 3.8 million His-panics living in the Com-monwealth of Puerto Rico.

The Hispanic popula-tion increased by 57 percentfrom 1990 to 2000, com-pared to a 13 percent in-crease for the entire U.S.population. This translatesinto an increase from 22.4million Hispanics to 35.3million Hispanics living inthe United States in the year2000.

The relative young ageof the Hispanic populationin the United States is re-flected in its population. Alarger percentage of Hispan-ics than non-Hispanics areyoung, with proportionatelymore children and fewer eld-erly. This young Hispanicpopulation will impact oursociety by becoming some ofthe leaders and shapers of thecountry over the next 20 to30 years.

Hispanics value their

families, their friends, hardwork, and country. They arehighly patriotic and proud oftheir cultural roots and up-bringing. Hispanics share tra-ditional values and are deeplyreligious. Respect toward el-ders and parents are corner-stones of the Hispanic cul-ture.

When it comes to serv-ing in the United StatesArmed Forces, Hispanicshave always risen to the occa-sion. In 1898, the UnitedStates declared war on Spain.Hispanics were among thosewho served with the RoughRiders under Lt. Col.Theodore Roosevelt.

Exactly how many His-panics fought in World War I

is unknown, but some re-ports indicate that almost20,000 Puerto Ricans servedduring this war. An estimateof the number of Hispanicswho served in the armedforces during World War IIranges from 250,000 to500,000; figures are impre-cise because data were notmaintained on Hispanics as agroup.

The presence of Hispan-ics in the U.S. military rankshas increased since WorldWar II. During the Koreanand Vietnam Wars, the num-ber of Hispanics on the front

lines was disproportionatelyhigh for their population. Asin previous wars, many His-panics chose to serve in com-bat units such as the Marinesand paratroopers. They dis-tinguished themselvesthrough courage and bravery.

It is worthy of note that39 Hispanic Americans havebeen recipients of the Medalof Honor, the highest recog-nition for acts of individualgallantry and heroism bymembers of the nation’sarmed forces. Only seven arecurrently living.

As of September 2000,Hispanics made up 8.2 per-cent of armed forces mem-bers, representing 4 percentof the officer corps and 9

percent of the enlisted force.The percentage of Hispanicson active duty has almostdoubled in the past 10 years.Given the continued growthin the Hispanic populationand the youth of the popula-tion, it is evident that overthe next 10 years, the repre-sentation of Hispanics in thearmed forces will likelydouble again.

The history of theUnited States is one of differ-ent waves of immigrantscoming to its shores seekingnew opportunities. Today’simmigrants, including His-

Honor Our Hispanic Employees and VeteransJacob Lozada, Ph.D.Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration

panics, are adapting toAmerican culture faster thanearlier generations. By theend of high school, the chil-dren of immigrants are gen-erally more fluent in Englishthan in their parents’ lan-guage. The level of Spanishproficiency among second-generation immigrants indi-cates their children will mostlikely speak English only.

Hispanics will continueto contribute to our nationand its economy, culture, se-curity, and values. I hopeyou’ll join me in recognizingthe multiple contributionsthat Hispanics have made toour country. Specifically, Iencourage you to join me incelebrating the many contri-

butions of our nation’s His-panic veterans. I also hopethat you take a minute to re-flect on the tragic events ofSept. 11, 2001, and the needto work together as onepeople—without regard torace or ethnicity—to ensureliberty, freedom, a strong na-tion, and security for all.

I hope that you take a minute to reflect on the tragicevents of Sept. 11, 2001, and the need to worktogether as one people—without regard to race orethnicity—to ensure liberty, freedom, a strong nation,and security for all.

Editor’s Note: In honor of His-panic Heritage Month, a signifi-cant portion of the content inthis issue is devoted to featureson Hispanic employees and vet-erans. To add additional inter-est, we’re presenting some ofthe articles in both English andSpanish.

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5 September/October 2002

Estoy encantado de hacer laintroducción para la ediciónespecial de VAnguard enhonor a nuestros empleadosy veteranos hispanos enocasión del “Mes delPatrimonio Hispano”. Estacelebración anual bajo ellema “Hispano-estadounidenses: Fortaleza enla Unidad, en la Fe y en laDiversidad”, esparticularmente significativaen vistas a que el resultadodel Censo 2000 indica quelos hispanos se hanconvertido en el grupominoritario más importantede los Estados Unidos deAmérica.

El Censo 2000 arrojó unresultado de 281, 4 millonesde residentes en los EstadosUnidos y sus territorios, delos cuales 35 millones (esdecir el 12,5 por ciento deltotal) tienen ascendenciahispana. Además se contó a3,8 millones de hispanos queviven en el Estado LibreAsociado de Puerto Rico.

La comunidad hispanase incrementó un 57 porciento en el período de 1990al 2000, comparado con el13 por ciento de incrementoque tuvo la población totalde los Estados Unidos. Estose traduce en un incrementoque pasó de 22,4 millones a35,3 millones de hispanosviviendo en los EstadosUnidos en el año 2000.

La relativa juventud delos hispanos en los EstadosUnidos se refleja en supoblación. El mayorporcentaje de juventud lotiene la comunidad hispana yesta también tiene en

proporción, más niños ymenos ancianos. Esta jovencomunidad hispana haráimpacto en la sociedadamericana cuando algunos desus miembros se conviertanen líderes y formadores denuestra nación en los futuros20 o 30 años.

Los hispanos valoran lafamilia, los amigos, el trabajoduro y la nación. Son muypatrióticos y orgullosos desus orígenes y su educación.Comparten valorestradicionales y sonprofundamente religiosos. Elrespeto a los mayores y a lospadres son pilaresfundamentales de la culturahispana.

Cuando las Fuerzas Ar-madas de los Estados Unidoshan requerido del servicio delos hispanos, estos siemprehan estado a la altura de lasconsecuencias. Cuando en1898 los Estados Unidos ledeclararon la guerra aEspaña, los hispanosestadounidenses tambiénestaban dentro del batallónde los “Rough Riders” bajo elmando del CoronelTheodore Roosevelt.

No se sabe el númeroexacto de hispanos quelucharon en la Primer GuerraMundial, pero algunosreportes indican que almenos 20.000portorriqueños prestaronservicio en esa confrontación.

Una estimación delnúmero de hispanos queestuvieron al servicio de lasfuerzas armadas nacionalesen la Segunda GuerraMundial varía entre los250.000 a 500.000, el

número exacto es difícil delograr debido a que en esostiempos no se registraba a loshispanos como miembros deun grupo en particular.

La presencia de hispanosen las fuerzas armadas de losEE.UU. se ha incrementadodesde la Segunda GuerraMundial. Durante las guerrasde Corea y Vietnam, elnúmero de soldados hispanosfue desproporcionadamentealto con respecto a lapoblación total. Como en lasocasiones anteriores, muchoshispanos eligieron prestarservicio como infantes demarina o como paracaidistas,y se distinguieron por sucoraje y bravura.

Vale la pena recordarque 39 estadounidenses deorigen hispano han recibidola Medalla de Honor, que esel más alto reconocimiento alos actos de valentía yheroísmo que se otorga amiembros de las Fuerzas Ar-madas de los Estados Unidos.De ellos, solo siete viven enla actualidad.

Desde septiembre del2000 los hispanosrepresentan el 8,2 por cientodel total de miembros de lasfuerzas armadas,representando un 4 porciento de los oficiales y un 9por ciento de la tropa regular.El porcentaje de hispanos enservicio activo se ha casiduplicado en los últimos 10años.

Dado el continuocrecimiento y la juventud dela población hispana, esevidente y probable que enlos próximos 10 años elnúmero de hispanos en las

fuerzas armadas se dupliquenuevamente.

La historia de losEstados Unidos está basadaen las diferentes oleadas deinmigrantes que han venidoa estas costas en busca denuevas oportunidades. Losinmigrantes de hoy,incluyendo los hispanos, seadaptan más rápidamente ala cultura estadounidense queen las pasadas generaciones.A la finalización de la escuelasecundaria, los hijos deinmigrantes generalmentehablan el idioma inglés másfluido que el idioma de suspadres. El nivel del españolque hablan los inmigrantesde segunda generación indicaque sus hijos se inclinaránpor hablar inglés únicamente.

Los hispanoscontinuarán contribuyendocon nuestra nación, con sueconomía, su cultura, suseguridad y sus valores. Estoyesperanzado que usted seunirá a mi en elreconocimiento de lasmúltiples contribuciones quelos hispanos han hecho anuestro país. Especialmente,yo lo aliento a unirse a mí ycelebrar las tantascontribuciones que hanhecho a nuestra naciónnuestros veteranos hispanos.

También espero que setome un minuto parareflexionar sobre los trágicoseventos del pasado 11 deseptiembre de 2001 y sobrela necesidad de trabajar jun-tos como un solo pueblo, sinimportar raza o etnia, paraasegurar la libertad, lafortaleza de la nación y laseguridad de todos.

Honra a neustros empleados y veteranos latinosJacob Lozada, Ph.D.Secretario Adjunto para Recursos Humanos y Administración

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The summer of 2002 was a memo-rable and rewarding one for 53Texas high school students. It was asummer that brought hope, encour-agement, work force experience anda nice paycheck.

The students were part of a VAand Texas Workforce Commission-sponsored summer employment andenrichment program at the SouthTexas Veterans Health Care Systemin San Antonio.

“We were fortunate to havesome real bright stars, very ambi-tious and eager to learn,” said healthcare system director Jose Coronado.“This is a very good program thatbenefits us all.”

With VA’s work force aging, of-ficials believe it’s never too early tobegin introducing youths to the VAwork force in hopes of attracting thebest and the brightest employeesdown the road.

The program, the first of itskind in VA, has gotten the atten-tion of Secretary Anthony J.Principi, who said VA wants to in-troduce high school students to rolemodels and mentors who will inspirethem to remain in school. “We wantto help motivate our youth to pursuetheir education into post-secondaryschools and we hope VA will betheir employer of choice,” the Sec-retary said.

The program has already had apositive impact on CatalinaQuintanar, 16, who wants to returnto work at the Audie L. MurphyMemorial Veterans Hospital in SanAntonio one day. “I gained so muchexperience working at the VA hos-pital that my self-confidence reallyescalated,” said Quintanar, whoworked in the facility’s LearningCenter. “I saw myself using workskills that I didn’t even know I had.”

Eager to Learn

Michael Ramirez, 16, whoworked in the public affairs office,echoed the same sentiments. “Ilearned so much and felt that Imade some valuable contributions.It was one of those experienceswhere I would look forward to thenext day so I could go back towork.”

For 16-year-old StephenMartinez, his summer job in themedical center’s X-ray unit has himnow wanting to pursue a career inthe medical field. “This has been aneye-opener for me. I feel that I ex-panded my communications skillsand felt comfortable talking withboth the doctors and patients,” hesaid. “I appreciated the staff’s will-ingness to help. They made me feelneeded and appreciated.”

Martinez, whose grandfatherand uncle are veterans, said he tooktime to let the patients know howmuch he cared about them and howgrateful he is to them for their ser-vice.

Some of the students’ parents,like Martinez’s mother Doreen, saidthey strongly endorse the programand hope it continues. “It’s very im-portant that they get work experi-ence and learn to be responsible.That’s always good,” she said.

The pilot program involved 53students, most of them Hispanic,whose low family incomes may limittheir chances of attending college oreven completing high school. Rang-ing in age from 16 to 18, they wereselected by the Texas WorkforceCommission to participate in workand educational experiences 40hours a week for eight weeks.

53 Texas high school students got an introduction to publicservice and more this summer through an innovative program

Moxy Garcia and the other students participated in work and educational experiences 40hours a week for eight weeks.

Continued on page 8

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Hispanic Heritage Month

Michael Ramírez trabajó en la oficina de asuntos públicos.

El verano del 2002 ha sido memo-rable y gratificante para 53estudiantes de escuela secundaria deTexas. Ha sido un verano que trajoesperanza, estímulo, experiencia detrabajo y una buena paga.

Los estudiantes fueron parte dela Administración de Veteranos y dela Comisión de Personal de Texasque patrocinaron el programa deverano para empleo yenriquecimiento en el Sistema deServicios de Salud para losVeteranos del Sur de Texas en SanAntonio.

“Hemos sido afortunados decontar con verdaderas estrellas, tanambiciosos y con tantas ganas deaprender”, dijo el director delSistema de Servicios de Salud JoséCoronado. “Este es un programamuy bueno que nos beneficia atodos”.

Como el personal de laAdministración de Veteranos vaenvejeciendo, los oficialesconsideran que nunca es muytemprano para comenzar aincorporar jóvenes dentro del per-sonal de la institución y tienen laesperanza de poder atraer a losmejores talentos que hayadisponibles.

El programa, primero en su claseen la Administración de Veteranos,ha captado la atención delSecretario Anthony J. Príncipiquien dijo que la Administraciónquiere captar estudiantes secundariospara jugar con ellos el papel demodelo y mentor y así inspirarlos acontinuar estudiando. “Queremosmotivar a nuestros jóvenes a

continuar estudiando después determinar su escuela secundaria yesperamos que la Administración deVeteranos sea el empleador que elloselijan”, dijo el secretario.

El programa ya ha tenido suimpacto positivo en CatalinaQuintanar de 16 años, que algún díaquiere reintegrarse al trabajo en elhospital de veteranos Audie L.Murphy en San Antonio. “Ganétanta experiencia trabajando en elhospital de veteranos que laconfianza en mi misma haaumentado considerablemente”, dijoQuintanar, que trabajó en lasinstalaciones del centro deaprendizaje. “Me he encontrado ami misma haciendo uso dehabilidades que no sabía que tenía”,agregó.

Michael Ramírez, también de 16años y que trabajó para la oficina de

asuntos públicos, hace eco de losmismos sentimientos. “Aprendímuchísimo y siento que he hechocontribuciones muy valiosas. Fueuna de esas experiencias en las queuno espera con ansia el día siguientepara volver al trabajo”.

A el joven de 16 años StephenMartínez, este trabajo de verano enla unidad de rayos X del centromédico lo ha motivado a quererseguir una carrera en el campo de lamedicina. “Esta experiencia me haabierto los ojos. Desarrollé miscapacidades de comunicación y mesentí cómodo hablando con médicosy pacientes”, dijo y agregó, “Heapreciado la voluntad de ayudar quetenía el personal. Me hicieron sentirnecesitado y valorado”.

Martínez, que es hijo y nieto deveteranos, dijo que se tomó el

Ansiosos de aprender53 estudiantes de escuelas secundarias en Texas recibieronintroducción al servicio público aparte de otra información gracias aun programa inovador

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While the majority of the program participantsworked at the main facility in San Antonio, othersworked at the medical center’s six outpatient clinics inCorpus Christi, Kerrville, Laredo, McAllen, San Anto-nio and Victoria. The Texas Workforce Commissionpaid the students’ salaries for the first four weeks andVA paid the last four weeks. During the eight-week pe-riod the students, who earned $7.68 an hour, weretaught how to manage their money, as well as the im-portance of grooming and punctuality. Many also wereintroduced to the city’s public transportation system,since a number of them had to take the bus to work.

“We provided these students with a good working

The summer work program for high school kids at the SouthTexas Veterans Health Care System was praised as a“showcase for government” during an interagency taskforce meeting in Washington, D.C., in July.

The task force, established in October 2000 by Execu-tive Order 13171 and chaired by the director of the Office ofPersonnel Management, met to discuss the steps agencieshave taken to improve the representation of Hispanics in thefederal government. As part of the executive order, all agen-cies must submit to the President an annual report detailingtheir progress in hiring Hispanics.

VA’s representative on the task force, Dr. Jacob Lozada,Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administra-tion, attended the meeting. As he described the San Antonioyouth program, in which 53 high school students spent thesummer working with mentors at VA facilities, he said he re-ceived a great deal of positive feedback. “They called it ashowcase for government,” he said. Later that day, when hereturned to his office, he received several e-mail messagesfrom task force members interested in replicating the pro-gram in their agencies.

In the weeks that followed, a partnership between VA,the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at the De-partment of Health and Human Services, and Baltimore CityPublic Schools led to the establishment of the Student Ca-reer Academy.

The academy opened its doors recently to disadvan-taged and minority high school students in Baltimore PublicSchools who are referred by their high school guidancecounselors. Once enrolled, they get one-on-one mentoring,job shadowing opportunities, and become eligible for paidsummer jobs. The first class of about 50 students enteredthe academy in September. During the course of the regularschool year, they’ll gain the knowledge and skills necessary

to succeed in the workplace, and get a feel for the types ofjobs available in the federal government.

With San Antonio’s youth employment program beingused as a model by other agencies, Lozada would like to seeit replicated in VA as well. He said it would work in any citywith a large concentration of minorities. All the programneeds to succeed, he added, is the support of facility direc-tors.

That’s exactly what happened in San Antonio. Jose R.Coronado, director of the South Texas Veterans Health CareSystem, is a former high school teacher and principal, and astrong believer in mentoring. When he heard about Lozada’sidea, he volunteered to prototype the program. He issued acall for employees to participate as mentors and wasswamped with volunteers. In the end, he had more mentorsthan students. It took just two weeks for them to set up theprogram.

“This is a great way to energize staff,” said Coronado.“These young people are in need of positive role models,and the staff really enjoyed filling that role.” He said whenthe eight-week program ended, about half of the kids askedif they could stay. They ended up joining the health caresystem’s youth volunteer program and still meet regularlywith their summer mentors. “Now everyone is asking ifwe’re going to do it again next year,” said Coronado.

Encouraged by the success in San Antonio, and in repli-cating the program in Baltimore, Lozada is optimistic aboutthe future. “I personally believe [the youth employment pro-gram] has tremendous potential to address issues of under-representation in the federal government and in attractingyoung people to public service and to what we do in VA. Itcan be very, very powerful for these kids to see someonewho looks like them in a position of leadership in the federalgovernment.”

Youth Program Praised as ‘Showcase for Government’

environment,” said Dr. Chris Bacon, the health caresystem’s assistant chief of staff for education. “We in-stilled in them a good work ethic. We would meet withthem every Friday to discuss their jobs and to providesome basic performance skills. We also would let themknow that we were pleased that they were part of ourwork force.”

The young employees were noticed by many of thepatients, who said they appreciated the students’ workand VA’s efforts to provide jobs for them. “This is ourfuture generation, and these students got an opportunityto perform a job. This is a wise investment by the VA,”said patient Dan Krischke, a Vietnam veteran. “Theseyouths can learn a lot from talking to us veterans. Wehave a lot of wisdom to give out. Many times the spo-

8 September/October 2002

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Hispanic Heritage Month

tiempo para hacerle saber a los pacientes lo importanteque son para él y lo agradecido que está por el servicioque los veteranos han prestado a la patria.

Algunos padres de los estudiantes como la madre deMartínez, Doreen, dijeron que respaldan enérgicamenteel programa y esperan que continúe. “Es muy importanteque los jóvenes ganen experiencia laboral y queaprendan a ser responsables. Eso siempre es bueno”, dijo.

El programa piloto involucró a 53 estudiantes, lamayoría de ellos hispanos, los cuales por pertenecer afamilias de bajos recursos ven limitadas sus chances depoder asistir a la universidad y a veces hasta de poderterminar la escuela secundaria. Con un promedio deedad entre los 16 y 18 años, ellos fueron seleccionadospor la Comisión de Personal de Texas para participar enexperiencias de trabajo y educativas por período de ochosemanas a razón de 40 horas semanales.

Mientras que la mayoría de los participantes trabajóen las instalaciones principales de San Antonio, otrostrabajaron en los centros médicos de las clínicas depacientes externos en Corpus Christi, Kerville, Laredo,McAllen, San Antonio y Victoria. La Comisión de Per-sonal de Texas pagó el salario de los estudiantes por lasprimeras cuatro semanas y las 4 semanas restantesfueron pagadas por la Administración de Veteranos. Du-rante las ocho semanas, los estudiantes ganaron $ 7.68 ala hora y se les enseñó como manejar el dinero ytambién la importancia de ser prolijos y puntuales en eltrabajo. A muchos de ellos también se les enseñó amanejarse en el transporte público de la ciudad dadoque algunos tuvieron que tomar el bus para llegar a supuesto de trabajo.

“Hemos provisto a estos estudiantes de un buenambiente de trabajo”, dijo el Dr. Chris Bacon que es eljefe adjunto del personal de educación del Sistema deServicios de Salud. “Hemos inculcado en ellos la éticadel trabajo. Nos reuníamos con ellos todos los viernespara dialogar sobre sus tareas y para proveerlos detécnicas básicas de trabajo. También les hacíamos saberque estábamos muy agradecidos de que formaran partede nuestro personal”.

Los estudiantes también fueron notificados pormuchos pacientes quienes manifestaron que apreciabansu trabajo y los esfuerzos que la Administración deVeteranos hacía para darle una posibilidad laboral aellos. “Esta es nuestra futura generación y estosestudiantes tienen la oportunidad de realizar un trabajo.Esta es una sabia inversión que hace la Administraciónde Veteranos”, dijo el paciente Dan Krischke, unveterano de Vietnam. “Estos jóvenes pueden aprendermucho hablando con nosotros. Los veteranos tenemos

ken word is better than the written word. And thesestudents listened to us.”

Margie Parsons, of the health care system’s HumanResources Office, said the students certainly lived up toVA’s motto of “Putting Veterans First.” Perhaps youngCatalina Quintanar best summed up the program.“While the money I earned was important,” she said, “Ifound the experience I gained far more valuable.”

By Ozzie Garza

mucha sabiduría para dar. Muchas veces la palabrahablada es mejor que la palabra escrita y estosestudiantes nos escucharon”.

Maggie Parsons de la Oficina de Recursos Humanosdel sistema de servicios de salud expresó que losestudiantes cumplieron con el lema de la institución quedice “Los veteranos primero”. Como conclusión, bienvalen las palabras de Catalina Quintanar, la estudiantesobre quien nos hemos explayado anteriormente, “Eldinero que gané fue importante, pero la experiencia quelogré ha sido mucho más valiosa que eso.”

Por Ozzie GarzaOficina Regional OPA de Dallas

The American G.I. Forum, founded in 1948 to fight dis-crimination against Hispanic World War II veterans, isthe nation’s oldest and largest Hispanic veterans service

organization. Headquartered in Den-ver, the group has more than 140,000members.

The organization’s founder, Dr.Hector P. Garcia, was born in Mexicoand fled to Texas at age 4 with hisfamily to escape the Mexican Revolu-tion. A 1940 graduate of the Univer-sity of Texas Medical School, hejoined the Army during World WarII, and served in North Africa and

Italy as an infantryman and combat engineer until offi-cials found out he was a doctor. He earned the BronzeStar in Italy.

After the war, Garcia opened a medical practice inCorpus Christi, Texas. While working as a VA contractphysician, he discovered that Hispanic veterans were

A Strong Voice forHispanic Veterans

Continued on page 16

Garcia

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Dallas OPA Regional Office

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They spent World War I pullingguard duty at the Panama Canal.World War II brought a similar as-signment, guarding the rear lines inEurope and North Africa. By thetime the Korean War broke out inJune 1950, Puerto Rico’s 65th Infan-try Regimental Combat Group washungry for action.

When the Chinese army en-tered the war and swarmed south inOctober 1950, threateningthe Eighth U.S. Army atHungnam and surroundingthe 1st Marine Division, itwas the 65th who were calledto the front. They punchedthrough enemy lines andcleared a 13-mile escaperoute, allowing the besiegedMarines to slip out of theChinese trap. In their firstmajor operation, the 65th hadgone from rear guard obscu-rity to the front lines ofAmerica’s fighting forces.

As the war progressed,the 65th continued to make aname for themselves in a se-ries of decisive victories. Onemission saw them marchingto the South Korean capitalof Seoul to capture two hillsheld by the much larger Chi-nese 149th Division.

They reached the hillson Jan. 31, 1951, and begantheir assault. After two daysof intense fighting, “theBorinqueneers,” as they were nick-named, fixed bayonets and chargedstraight at the enemy, causing theChinese to flee.

After another mission, aptlynamed Operation Killer, in whichthe 65th fought to the banks of theHan River, they were sent to therear for R&R, the military acronym

for a period of rest and relaxation.As they settled in, the unit cameunder heavy attack from North Ko-rean troops.

It was a costly mistake. Whenthe gunfire silenced, the 65th hadwiped out more than 600 enemytroops and captured nearly 400. Inthe process, they lost one man andsuffered six wounded.

The 65th Infantry’s actions from

1950 to 1951 exemplified their unitmotto, “honor and fidelity,” betterthan at any other point during thewar. Yet, for some veterans, memo-ries of battlefield heroics are cloudedby a dark chapter in the unit’s his-tory.

By 1952, many of the experi-enced troops had rotated home. Thegreen replacements, mostly draftees,

suffered a series of staggering lossesat Outposts Kelly and Big Nori. Justtwo weeks later, they were sent totake a hilltop that would come to becalled Jackson Heights. Casualtiesmounted quickly during repeatedprobes of the hill.

When they finally reached thesummit, it offered little or no coverand the men found themselves vul-nerable to enemy artillery fire. With

hundreds of their dead coun-trymen strewn across the bar-ren hill, soldiers questionedthe purpose of their mission.

Some refused to fight.Others turned and ran. Inthe end, 92 men were court-martialed for disobeying or-ders, including one soldierwho refused an order toshoot deserters. More thanhalf of the men were latergranted clemency after glow-ing testimony before Con-gress from a former battalioncommander. Few thingsmake sense in war, and theincidents surrounding the65th Infantry’s “bug out,” as ithas come to be known, areno exception.

Francisco D. Maldonado,area emergency manager atthe Miami VA Medical Cen-ter, knows the story of the65th well. His father spent 30years in the Army, serving

with the 65th in World War II andthe Korean War, during what hecalled the unit’s “golden years.”

He said the people of PuertoRico are extremely proud of the his-tory of the 65th Infantry. But hepointed out that whenever the topicis brought up in conversation, thediscussion inevitably turns to the

Puerto Rico’s 65th Infantry Regiment

Fighting for Honor, Country

Francisco Maldonado’s father, right, at Mass while servingwith the 65th Infantry during the Korean War.

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Ellos fueron los encargados de hacerguardia en el Canal de Panamá du-rante la Primera Guerra Mundial.En la Segunda Guerra Mundial,tuvieron una tarea similar cuidandola retaguardia de las tropas enEuropa y en el norte de África.Cuando llegó el momento de laGuerra de Corea en 1950, elRegimiento de Infantería Nº 65 dePuerto Rico estaba ansioso porentrar en acción.

Cuando el ejército chinoentró en guerra en octubre de1950 y se agrupó en el sur,amenazó el Octavo Batallóndel Ejército de los EE.UU. enHungnam y rodeó la PrimerDivisión de Marines. Esta fuela oportunidad delRegimiento Nº 65 para pasaral frente de batalla.

Los hispanos perforaronuna línea a través del ejércitoenemigo y despejaron una víade escape de 13 millas quepermitió salir de la trampa alos Marines sitiados. En laprimer operación a granescala que tuvo que realizar,el Regimiento Nº 65 pasó dela oscuridad de la retaguardiaa la primer línea de combatede las fuerzasestadounidenses.

A través del desarrollode la guerra, el RegimientoNº 65 continuó haciendoconocer su nombre a través devictorias decisivas. Una de lasmisiones los encontró marchandohacia la capital de Corea del Sur,Seúl, para capturar dos colinas queestaban en posesión del RegimientoNº 149 del ejército chino que eramucho más numeroso que ellos.

Llegaron a las colinas el 31 deenero de 1951 y comenzaron el

asalto a las mismas. Después de dosdías de intenso combate, los“Borinqueneers”, como se losapodaba, calaron bayonetas ycargaron directo contra el enemigo,haciéndolo huir.

Después de la misión queapropiadamente se dio en llamarOperation Killer, en la que elRegimiento Nº 65 luchó en la riveradel río Han, los soldados fueron

enviados a retaguardia para gozar deun período de “R&R”, lo quesignifica en el ejército descanso yrelajación. No bien se asentaron, launidad sufrió un ataque de las tropasnorcoreanas. Fue un gran error departe del enemigo. Cuando secallaron los disparos, el RegimientoNº 65 había aniquilado a más de600 soldados enemigos y había

capturado también a 400prisioneros. En total la unidad soloperdió un hombre y 6 fueronheridos.

Entre 1950 y 1951, las accionesbélicas del Regimiento Nº 65 son unclaro ejemplo de su lema “Honor yFidelidad”, nada más importante queeso en el campo de batalla. No ob-stante para algunos veteranos delregimiento, las memorias de un

pasado heroico en el campode batalla se ensombrecen porun capítulo oscuro en lahistoria de la unidad.

En 1952 muchos de lossoldados experimentadosestaban de licencia en suscasas. Sus reemplazantes pocoexperimentados, en sumayoría reclutas del serviciomilitar, sufrieron una serie deimportantes pérdidas en lospuestos de avanzada de Kellyy Big Nori. Justo dos semanasdespués fueron enviados acapturar una colina que mástarde se llamó Jackson Heights.Las víctimas se sumaronrápidamente durante losintentos de subir a la colina.

Cuando finalmentellegaron a la cima, el lugarofreció muy poco reparo paralas tropas, haciéndolasvulnerables al fuego enemigo.Al ver a cientos de camaradasdesparramados sobre la estéril

colina, los soldados cuestionaron elsentido de la misión.

Algunos se rehusaron a pelear,otros se volvieron y huyeron. Alfinalizar, 92 soldados fueronsometidos a corte marcial pordesobedecer órdenes incluyendo unsoldado que se rehusó a disparar encontra de soldados que desertaban.

Regimiento de Infantería Nº 65 de Puerto Rico

Luchando por el honor y el país

El 65avo. Monumento de Infantería en San Juan.

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courts martial. He explained thatsome veterans of the 65th feel asthough their heroics were tarnishedby the events at Jackson Heights.Others sympathize with those whorefused to fight, calling it a suicidemission.

In the fog of war, some soldiersdisobeyed orders. But many foughtwith valor. During the Korean War,“the Borinqueneers” were awarded1,014 Purple Hearts, 562 BronzeStars, 163 Silver Stars and sevenDistinguished Service Crosses. The

Más tarde, y como resultado de unbrillante testimonio de un excomandante de batallón ante elCongreso, se le otorgó clemencia amás de la mitad de los soldadossentenciados. Pocas cosas tienensentido en la guerra y los incidentesque llevaron a la unidad ainsubordinarse y no respetar a susmandos no son una excepción. (Elincidente es identificado con laexpresión en idioma inglés “bug out”del Regimiento Nº 65.)

Francisco D. Maldonado,gerente del área de emergencia en elCentro Médico de Veteranos de Mi-ami, conoce muy bien la historia delRegimiento Nº 65. Su padre pasó 30años en el ejército sirviendo en launidad durante la Segunda GuerraMundial y durante la Guerra deCorea, lo que el llamó los “añosdorados” del regimiento.

Él dice que la gente de PuertoRico se siente extremadamenteorgullosa de la historia delRegimiento Nº 65, de todas manerasdestaca que cada vez que se habladel tema la discusión terminagirando sobre las cortes marciales.Explica que algunos veteranos delRegimiento Nº 65 sienten que sus

actos heroicos han sido empañadospor los eventos de Jackson Heights.Otros simpatizan con aquellos que serehusaron a luchar por considerarque esa fue una misión suicida.

En la oscuridad de la batallaalgunos soldados desobedecenórdenes, pero muchos pelean convalor. Durante la Guerra de Corea,los “Borinqueneers” fueroncondecorados con 1.014 CorazonesPúrpura, 562 Medallas de Bronce,163 Estrellas de Plata y siete Crucespor Distinción en el Servicio. Ellegado de esta unidad permanececomo una fuente de profundoorgullo para los portorriqueños.

Cuando el secretario Príncipivisitó el Centro Médico deVeteranos de San Juan al comienzode este año, el director Dr. RafaelRamírez Gonzáles y su personal lepresentaron una historia sobre laactuación del Regimiento Nº 65 enla Guerra de Corea que se llama“Gloriuos Unfortunates”(en español“Gloriosos Desafortunados”). Lahistoria fue escrita por el hijo deMaldonado, que también se llamaFrancisco, para su proyecto deinvestigación en la Universidad deYale.

Por Matt Bristol

unit’s legacy remains a source ofdeep pride for Puerto Ricans.

When Secretary Principi visitedthe San Juan VA Medical Centerearly this year, director RaphaelRamirez-Gonzales, M.D., and staffpresented him a history of the 65th

Infantry Regiment’s service in Koreacalled Glorious Unfortunates. Thepaper was written by Maldonado’sson, also named Francisco, for hissenior research project at Yale Uni-versity.

By Matt Bristol

■ Hispanics have played a key rolein the history of America for hun-dreds of years. The Spanish ex-plorer Juan Ponce de León is cred-ited with discovering Florida. Heled an expedition to the area in1513, landing near the site of whatis now St. Augustine.

■ Hispanic Heritage Month is ob-served every year from Sept. 15 toOct. 15. That period covers a widerange of Independence Days forLatin American countries.

■ Congress initiated a nationwidecelebration of Hispanic heritage,National Hispanic Heritage Week,in 1968; 20 years later, Congress ex-tended the observance from aweek to a month.

■ The theme of this year’s HispanicHeritage Month is Hispanic Ameri-cans: Strength in Unity, Faith andDiversity.

■ More than 30 million Americans,about 1 in 8 people in the UnitedStates, claim Hispanic origin.

■ Hispanics are now the largestminority group in the U.S., and areexpected to make up 24 percent ofthe population by 2050.

■ The U.S. Hispanic population in-creased 57 percent between 1990and 2000.

■ About 6 percent of the federalworkforce is Hispanic, the samepercentage found in VA’sworkforce.

Did You Know?

Hispanics in America

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■ During the American Revolution,the Continental Army benefited fromthe valor of Bernardo de Gálvez,who led his frequently outnumberedtroops to numerous victoriesagainst the British.

■ In the War of 1812, SpanishAmericans from Louisiana joinedGen. Andrew Jackson’s defendersin defeating a British invasion force.

■ David Farragut was the most fa-mous Hispanic participant in theCivil War. He’s best known for theremark, made to his crew duringbattle, “Damn the torpedoes! Fullspeed ahead!” Farragut was thefirst person to earn the rank of ad-miral in the U.S. Navy.

■ Cuban-born Loreta JanetaVelázquez didn’t let her gender stopher from fighting for her side duringthe Civil War. She disguised herselfas a man named Harry Buford, evenwearing a fake mustache, andjoined the Confederate forces. Hersecret was discovered only aftershe was injured in battle.

■ Marine Pfc. Guy Louis Gabaldon,a Mexican American, capturedmore enemy soldiers than anyoneelse in the history of U.S. militaryconflicts. He captured 1,000 Japa-nese soldiers in the South Pacificduring World War II.

■ Luis Esteves organized the firstPuerto Rico National Guard androse through the ranks of the U.S.Army to become a distinguishedBrigadier General.

■ Thirty-nine Hispanics haveearned our nation’s highest militarydecoration, the Medal of Honor.

Hispanic VeteransWho Are VA’s Hispanic Leaders?

VA Central Office: Antonio Aponte, director ofVBA’s Office of Communications and Case Manage-ment; Alfonso R. Batres, Ph.D., chief officer of VHA’sReadjustment Counseling Service; Jim W. Delgado, di-

rector of VHA’s Voluntary Ser-vice Office; Donny Flores, chiefof Property Management forVBA’s Loan Guaranty Service;Jacob (Jake) Lozada, Ph.D., As-sistant Secretary for Human Re-sources and Administration;Armando E. Rodriguez, DeputyAssistant Secretary for Diversity Management andEqual Employment Opportu-nity;

VHA field facilities: JoseCoronado, director, South Texas Veterans HealthCare System; Gabriel Pérez, director, Saginaw, Mich.,VA Medical Center; Rafael E. Ramirez, M.D., direc-

tor, San Juan, Puerto Rico, VAMedical Center; Jeanette Diaz,associate director, San Juan,Puerto Rico, VA Medical Center;Ada Medina Neale, associate di-rector, Long Beach, Calif., VAMedical Center; Faust Alvarez, M.D., chief of staff, Ft.Harrison, Mont., VA Medical Center; VincentAlvarez, M.D., chief of staff,Nashville, Tenn., VAMC;Sandra C. Gracia-Lopez, M.D.,chief of staff, San Juan, PuertoRico, VA Medical Center;

VBA field facilities: Sonia Moreno, acting di-rector, San Juan, Puerto Rico, VA Regional Office;

NCA field facilities: SteveMuro, director, Memorial Ser-vice Network V (Oakland, Ca-lif.); Jorge Baltar, director,Puerto Rico National Cemetery; Gill Gallo, director,Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery; Gloria Mote,director, Port Hudson National Cemetery; JorgeLopez, director, Houston National Cemetery; JoeRamos, director, Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery;Donald Rincon, director, Sante Fe National Cem-etery; Arleen Vincenty, director, Natchez NationalCemetery; Gerald Vitela, director, Fort Logan Na-tional Cemetery.

Lozada

Delgado

Rodriguez

Batres

Neale

Moreno

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A grassroots effort is underway topreserve the history of HispanicAmericans, and VA is a nationalpartner. Take a look through historybooks on World War II, the Depres-sion, and post-war America, andyou’ll be hard-pressed tofind any mention ofLatinos, noted MaggieRivas-Rodriguez, Ph.D.,assistant professor of jour-nalism at the Universityof Texas at Austin.

Consider the story ofGuy Louis Gabaldon, aMexican American whogrew up in East Los An-geles. Nicknamed thePied Piper of Saipan, heis credited with capturingmore than 1,000 Japa-nese soldiers and civil-ians as a U.S. Marineduring World War II. Hisactions were depicted inthe 1960 film “Hell toEternity.” But accordingto a Los Angeles Times ar-ticle, instead of depictingGabaldon as a Latino,the film portrayed him asan Italian Americanplayed by Jeffery Hunter.It didn’t marginalize hisheroics, just his heritage.

The absence ofLatinos in American his-tory was somethingRivas-Rodriguezstumbled upon while do-ing research for a maga-zine story. “I was workingon a story about Mexican Ameri-cans in World War II and I realizedthere wasn’t much written abouttheir role,” she said during a recent

telephone interview from her officein Austin. As she interviewed theaging veterans, she realized Latinoswere in jeopardy of losing an impor-tant part of their history. Whenthese veterans died, so would their

stories. She wasn’t about to let thathappen.

In 1999, she started the U.S.Latino and Latina World War II

Oral History Project to collect andpreserve missing pieces of Americanhistory. She has since put togetheran archive of nearly 300 videotapedoral histories of Latino men andwomen who came of age during the

war. The video interviewswere transcribed into nar-ratives and archived onlineat www.utexas.edu/projects/latinoarchives.

VA’s ReadjustmentCounseling Service was herfirst national partner. Dr.Alfonso Batres, who over-sees VA’s 206 vet centers,said he was eager to get in-volved in the project. “OurWorld War II veterans aredying at an alarming rate.Many of them have nottold their stories, and theymay be lost forever,” hesaid. “We have found thisto not only be a good wayto record historical eventsand accounts, but alsotherapeutic for the veter-ans who participate.”

The San Antonio VetCenter was the first to par-ticipate. Team leaderHiliario “Lalo” Martinezcalled the experience veryrewarding. “There was a lotof positive energy givenout,” he said. Vet centersin El Paso, Texas, Houston,Los Angeles, and McAllen,Texas, followed suit, andothers are lining up. Earlierthis year, Martinez and

Rivas-Rodriguez flew to Puerto Ricoto meet with team leaders from vetcenters in Arecibo, San Juan and

Preserving Latino HistoryVet Centers join a grassroots effort to collect missing pieces ofAmerican history

Colorful murals like this one outside the vet center are a signaturefeature of East Los Angeles.

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VA’s Humanitarian Ambassadors to HondurasDr. Michael Priebe and colleagues are bringing their knowledge and skills toa country that desperately needs them

Dr. Michael Priebe tells all hisfriends that Honduras is the idealplace to spend his vacation. But hedoesn’t hit the beaches of the BayIslands or visit the Mayan ruins ofCopan. He and members of his re-habilitation team go to share theirknowledge and skills with thepeople of this beautiful, but poor,Central American country.

The chief of the VA NorthTexas Health Care System’s SpinalCord Injury (SCI) Service enjoys hisvisits to Honduras so much that hehas been there five times in the pastthree years. He has been accompa-nied on these trips by many of hisfellow rehabilitation professionalsfrom both VA and private hospitalsin the Dallas area. All return with arenewed spirit and a better apprecia-tion for life and for their patients.

It all began in 1999 whenPriebe heard someone from hischurch talk about an opportunity togo to Honduras for a weeklong work

mission through an organizationcalled Honduras Outreach, Inc.(HOI). “It sounded interesting and Ineeded a break,” Priebe recalled, “soI volunteered to go, thinking Iwould be digging latrines. EveryNorth American mission group thatworks though HOI needs a physi-cian or a nurse on the team.

“They found out I was a doctor,so they said I could be the team doc-tor. I told them that I’m not in gen-eral medicine—my training is in re-habilitation. That didn’t seem tomatter. I was still the doctor on theteam.”

Thus began a journey that hastouched and changed numerouslives, all for the better.

With only a small percentage ofHondurans having access to medicalcare and almost nothing resemblingrehabilitation outside of the majorcities, Priebe, a specialist in physicalmedicine and rehabilitation, was awelcome visitor in the country.

His first visit to Honduras inMay 1999 was an eye-opener. Afterhelping the team build one latrine,he met his first patient. Eugenio is aman in his early 20s who was para-lyzed from the chest down as a resultof a gunshot wound six months priorto Priebe’s visit.

Eugenio had received no reha-bilitation. After his injury he wasmedically stabilized and given a co-lostomy and a catheter. He was senthome to his village to live with hiswife and 1-year-old son in his par-ents’ two-room home with a packeddirt floor and stucco walls.

The only equipment he re-ceived was an air mattress that hefilled with water. He spent his dayslying in bed, getting up into a plastic

lawn chair to sit on the porch whenit got too hot inside. He had nowheelchair, no cushion, and nohope.

When Priebe visited with hispatient he saw a young man whowas clearly depressed and looked to-tally helpless. “The first thing I didwas to teach him some basic skills,so common to us that we assume ev-eryone knows them,” Priebe said.

On the first day, he taughtEugenio how to roll over and sit upin bed, and showed his wife how tostretch his legs. The second day,Priebe discussed skin and woundcare, colostomy management andbladder care with Eugenio and thevillage nurse who had been caringfor him. And on the third day,Eugenio received his first wheel-chair.

In advance of his trip, Priebehad made arrangements to take do-nated medical supplies and equip-ment with him. “I brought with mea bunch of equipment, not knowingwhat I was going to see,” he recalledabout that first trip.

Among the medical equipmentwas a wheelchair donated by Dr.Lance Goetz, one of Priebe’s VAcolleagues who also has paraplegia.Priebe taught Eugenio how to trans-fer in and out of the chair and howto get around without tipping over.

When Eugenio first got in thewheelchair, he nearly flipped over.But after a few minor adjustmentsand some practice he was able tomaneuver himself around. He hassince become quite proficient in theuse of the wheelchair. “In theUnited States, the level of rehab heneeded could take three weeks or

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Dr. Priebe’s first patient, Eugenio, with hisfamily.

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Ponce to plan future interview ses-sions there.

Twelve World War II veteransrecorded their wartime experiences

more. We did what we could inthree days,” Priebe said.

On his second trip to Hondurasfive months later, Priebe saw a muchdifferent Eugenio. “We gave Eugeniohis legs back through the wheel-chair,” Priebe said. “In a way, wegave him his life back. He wentfrom a disabled, helpless and de-pressed man just waiting to die, tohaving the potential for a full life.”

Since his initial trip, Priebe hastaken four different rehab teams thathave included fellow VA employeesand colleagues from the Universityof Texas Southwestern MedicalCenter at Dallas and Parkland Me-morial Hospital. All the rehabilita-tion professionals who go have totake annual leave and pay their ownway for the opportunity to partici-pate in a program that desperatelyneeds their skills and training.

“The brief interventions that weare able to offer seem to be so small,but they make a world of differenceto these people,” Priebe said. “Welearn as much as they do. Everybodycomes back a changed person. Thetherapists tell me that it really hasempowered them to have a greaterappreciation for their patients andthe work that they do. I know whatthey mean.”

Perhaps that’s the reason Priebeand his team anxiously await theirnext “vacation” to Honduras. Moreinformation about Honduras Out-reach, Inc., is available on theInternet at www.HOI.org.

By Ozzie Garza

last spring at the East Los AngelesVet Center. As the cameras rolled,the aging veterans talked about thehorrors of war. They spoke aboutfamily and pride in military service.They also talked about racism andthe barriers they faced as MexicanAmericans.

Manuel Martinez knows thestory well. He’s lived in East LosAngeles all his life, not counting theyear he spent in Vietnam with the173rd Airborne Brigade, and hasbeen a counselor at the East L.A.Vet Center for the past 10 years. Hesaid he wanted to get involved withthe project because “it seemed like agood opportunity to correct history.”After speaking with Rivas-Rodriguez, he met with members ofa local chapter of the Military Orderof the Purple Heart, an organizationfor combat-wounded veterans, whoagreed to participate in the project.

The veterans arrived at the vetcenter early one Saturday morning,where they were greeted by journal-ists, television producers and report-ers poised to record history. The in-terviewers, all members of the Cali-fornia Chicano News Media Asso-ciation, had volunteered for the as-signment.

The East Los Angeles Vet Cen-ter was a fitting place to preservethe history of Hispanic veterans, ac-cording to Jack Steingart, Ph.D., aKorean War veteran and teamleader. He said Hispanics make upmore than 80 percent of the vetcenter’s surrounding community.

When asked about workingwith vet centers, Rivas-Rodriguezsaid it’s been a fantastic relationship.“Vet centers gave us a chance forimmediate credibility,” she said, ex-plaining that veterans are more ea-ger to participate if they know vetcenters are supporting the project.

Historical accounts collectedthrough this project will be housedat two University of Texas librar-ies—the Nettie Lee Benson Latin

Latino History continued from page 14

Honduras continued from page 15

being denied the medical, educa-tional and housing benefits promisedto millions of returning World WarII veterans through the G.I. Bill ofRights. He rallied hundreds of Mexi-can-American veterans to organizethe American G.I. Forum and de-mand equal treatment.

It was Garcia’s involvement inresolving a troubling incident in1949 that catapulted him and theforum into the national spotlight. Afuneral director in the town ofThree Rivers, Texas, refused to allowthe family of a Hispanic soldierkilled in combat during the war touse the funeral home’s chapel. Hefeared it would offend the localwhite community.

Army Pvt. Felix Longoria hadbeen killed in 1945 while on patrolin the Philippines to flush out re-treating Japanese. It had takennearly four years to identifyLongoria’s remains and return themto his family, and the only funeralhome in town was denying his fam-ily a place to hold the funeral.

Longoria’s widow turned toGarcia for help. He and the forumorganized a widespread protest thatdrew national attention to thefamily’s plight. Lyndon B. Johnson,then a Texas senator, intervenedand arranged burial with full mili-tary honors for Longoria in Arling-ton National Cemetery.

In later years, the AmericanG.I. Forum expanded its veterans’rights mission. With the motto,“Education is Our Freedom, andFreedom Should be Everybody’sBusiness,” the group is now recog-nized as a local, state and nationalvoice for all Americans of Hispanicdescent.

GI Forum continued from page 9

Dallas OPA Regional Office

American Collection and the Cen-ter for American History. For moreinformation on this project, visitwww.utexas.edu/projects/latinoarchives.

By Matt Bristol

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introducing

Thousands of Texas Rangersfans flocked to the Ballparkin Arlington this summer toroot for the home team. Asthey made their way to theirseats, they grabbed popcorn,peanuts and a game program.And when heavy-hittingshortstop Alex Rodriguez andfirst baseman Rafael Palmeiroweren’t driving home runsinto the upper decks, fansflipped through the programfor news of their favoriteplayers.

Inside, they found theusual player profiles and up-dates on the club’s Lone StarSeries II against the HoustonAstros. But they also readabout the sacrifices veteransmade in answering ournation’s call to service.

They read aboutAmerica’s heroes on the ballfield who put their careers onhold and took up arms to de-fend liberty during World

Wars I, II, Korea and theVietnam War. They were re-minded that some camehome from battle to playagain, while others gave theirlives in our nation’s defense.

Ozzie Garza wrote thestory for the Rangers’ gameprogram. “I was just doingmy job,” he explained. As re-gional director of public af-fairs based in Dallas, hemakes it his mission tospread the word about VAbenefits and the role veteranshave played in shaping ourcountry.

He said the story al-lowed him to combine hispassion for baseball with hisrole as a VA communicator.A condensed version of thestory, which appeared in theMay 2002 VAnguard, re-ceived more feedback fromreaders than any other storyin recent memory.

Writing about baseball

stars who served is onething, but Garza, anArmy veteran, alsowrites a weekly columnon veterans’ issues for ElSol de Texas, the state’slargest Spanish-languagenewspaper, and trans-lates VA press releasesand fact sheets intoSpanish to keep His-panic veterans in theloop. In the process, he isshaping his three-personpublic affairs office into a li-aison with the Hispanic com-munity.

“From print, radio andtelevision to personal con-tacts, Ozzie is there,” notedDiana Struski, who nowserves as a public affairs spe-cialist for VISN 21, based inSan Francisco, but got toknow Garza well in the 11years she spent at the SouthTexas Veterans Health CareSystem in San Antonio. “He’s

Ozzie Garza

It’s back-to-school time. Forstudents, that means shop-ping for notebooks and pen-cils, binders and backpacks.

But school suppliesaren’t just for kids anymore.Many adults are also return-ing to the classroom—orwish they could. Even if theycan find just the right class togive them the knowledgethey need and want, workingadults agree that it’s hard tojuggle commutes and regularclass meetings with a hecticfamily schedule.

Real-life time and familycommitments often stopadult learners from gettingthe ongoing education andtraining they need. But for

VA employees, help has ar-rived.

The Employee Educa-tion System has partneredwith the VA Learning Uni-versity and other staff officesto bring a Web-based cam-pus to the desktop and homecomputer for VA staff.

The program is calledVA Learning Online, orVALO. This learning pro-gram can be accessedthrough the VA LearningUniversity Intranet site, orfrom the Internet on a homeor public access computer.The program is being offeredfree of charge to all VA em-ployees.

Project manager Gary

Trende said VALO offers1,100 different courses forVA employees to choosefrom, and more are beingadded. Course offerings in-clude a wide range of topics,from personal developmentto information technologyand management skills. Youcan use VALO to obtainmandatory training, com-plete GED requirements, ortake college-level courses forcredit.

VA Learning Online waslaunched in early July and al-ready has thousands of em-ployee subscribers. “WithVALO, employees get essen-tial course training from onecentral place,” said Trende.

“In addition to the conve-nience, employees takecourses at their own pace, sothey’re more comfortable.”

In addition to the qual-ity and convenience ofVALO, the program also re-duces the need to travel fortraining. “VA strives to be alearning organization,” saidTrende. “Making learningmore accessible is a win-winfor VA and its employees.”

For more informationabout VA Learning Online,you can access VALO atwww.vcampus.com/valo. Youcan also log ontovaww.valu.lrn.va.gov, thenclick on the button for VALearning Online.

e-learningDiscover the Freedom to Learn with VALO

the bridge, the link, forreaching out to the Hispaniccommunity,” she said, add-ing that his efforts to targetHispanic media markets arethe first she has seen in the15 years she’s been with VA.

Garza’s shop is one ofseven regional offices of pub-lic affairs nationwide and isresponsible for providingguidance to public affairs of-ficers at VA medical centers,regional offices and nationalcemeteries throughout aseven-state region.

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VAnguard9-11 One-Year Anniversary

18 September/October 2002

Remembrance ...

A highlight of the Pentagon’s 9-11 one-yearanniversary ceremony, attended by Presi-dent Bush and Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld (above) was the unfurl-ing of the giant American flag recoveryworkers had unfurled shortly after the ter-rorist attack.

PENTAGON PHOTOAttendees of the 9-11 one-year anniversaryobservance at the Manhattan Division ofthe VA New York Harbor Healthcare Systemlook at a newly dedicated plaque mountedoutside the emergency room entrance. Itmarks the spot where desperate familymembers placed photographs of their lovedones in the hours and days after the at-tacks.

A moment of silence swept acrossAmerica on the morning of Sept.11, 2002, in a tribute to the morethan 3,000 people killed in the ter-rorist attacks a year earlier. Americavowed never to forget the attacks,and on their one-year anniversary,communities across the countrypulled together to uphold thatpledge.

VA facilities in the two citiesthat were most directly affected bythe events of that day kept thepromise by hosting emotional obser-vances.

At the Manhattan Division ofthe VA New York HarborHealthcare System, located just 20blocks from Ground Zero, about 250employees gathered to rememberthe day the towers fell. They ob-served a moment of silence, litcandles, and read scripture as a trib-ute to the fallen.

Martina Parauda, associate di-rector of the health care system,echoed the sentiments of manywhen she said, “We will not forgetthe events of that terrible morning,nor will we forget how Americansresponded ... with heroism and self-lessness; with compassion and cour-age; and with prayer and hope.”

During the observance, employ-ees laid wreaths at a newly dedicatedplaque mounted at the emergencyroom entrance. It was there thatdesperate family members placedphotographs of their missing lovedones in the hours after the attacks.

At the Washington, D.C., VAMedical Center, employees came to-gether to remember a day of loss.They heard from a man who lost aloved one at the World Trade Cen-ter and a VA psychiatrist who used

her training to comfort survivors atthe Pentagon. Deputy Secretary LeoS. Mackay Jr., Ph.D., spoke of theday’s significance and offered a re-minder of an uncertain future. “Weneed to remember, and grieve,” hesaid. “But we must also recall thatwe have a job to do, citizens toserve, a homeland to protect, and awar to win.”

Employees from VA facilities allover the country also gathered to re-member the day America was at-tacked. At the New Mexico VAHealth Care System, they came to-gether in the chapel to read thenames of all who perished.

Ronald Cok, chief of ChaplainService at the Albuquerque VA hos-

pital, came up with the idea of read-ing the names, hometowns andplace of death for each of the vic-tims. More than 60 employees vol-unteered for the reading. It tookthem eight hours to complete thelist. “It was very emotional,” saidMichael Kleiman, public affairs of-ficer.

One of the readers was RichardJ. Massen, M.D., a surgeon at themedical center and native NewYorker who went home after the at-tacks in search of Ground Zero. Hisjourney took him to his old Brook-lyn Heights neighborhood, where heattended medical school, and downto Saint Vincent’s Hospital, wherehundreds gathered after the attackin search of missing loved ones.

He concluded that Ground Zerowasn’t a piece of land, but rather amoment in time. Massen shared hisobservations with employees beforereading the names of 62 victims.

“We’re all seeking to reconnectwith Ground Zero but can’t find it,because it uniquely existed only

Remembrance ...

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9-11 One-Year Anniversary

A 16-ton granite headstone was unveiled on Sept. 12 at ArlingtonNational Cemetery in memory of victims of last year’s terrorist at-tack on the Pentagon. The National Cemetery Administration’sMemorial Programs Service procured the marker from Granite In-dustries of Vermont, the same company that built the Vietnam Vet-erans Memorial Wall.

The light-gray headstone is in the shape of the Pentagon andmarks the final resting spot for a single casket containing 150pounds of identified and unidentifiable remains. It was placed in asection of the cemetery overlooking the Pentagon, an area where 57victims of the attack are buried. Families of the victims can visit thegroup marker and make rubbings of the 184 names etched on itsburnished-aluminum panels.

When asked about VA’s role in procuring the marker, Dave K.Schettler, director of NCA’s Memorial Programs Service, said theassignment had special meaning for many of his staff, but that itwasn’t unusual for VA to provide a group marker. “We provideabout 12 group markers a year” for Arlington National Cemetery,he said, explaining that most are for remains from the Vietnam Warrecovered in Southeast Asia.

Before the marker was unveiled, families who lost loved ones inthe attack attended a funeral service in the cemetery’s amphithe-ater. It was the first such funeral since 1984, when remains fromVietnam were interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns.

The families wore black and shielded their eyes behind darksunglasses. Some clutched photos of loved ones lost and wept as ifreleasing a year of pent-up grief.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, who was in the Pen-tagon at the time of the attack, expressed the nation’s sympathy,saying, “Our country shares your sorrow and mourns your loss.” Theservice and group burial held special meaning for the families of fivevictims whose remains were never positively identified.

Marking the Resting Spot

VA provided a Pentagon-shaped granite headstone to mark a gravesite at Arling-ton National Cemetery containing the remains of victims of the 9-11 attack.

An Honor Guard bears the casket containingremains of 9-11 victims during a funeral service heldin the cemetery’s amphitheater.

once,” he said. “I think we feel compelled toreturn to that time for a simple reason. Dur-ing those dark and terrifying minutes, wewere all there, in New York, together. Every-one was stuck up in the Trade Center. Ev-eryone was in a terrifying flight over Penn-sylvania. Everyone was crushed in the im-pact on the Pentagon.

“Yet during those moments, we some-how also knew that, for a rare instance, realheroes were walking the Earth, marching upand down the stairwells of the World TradeCenter and the Pentagon and in flight overPennsylvania. I think we need to be in thepresence of those heroes again.

“During those moments, real angelswere on the Earth, showing compassion andmercy to the injured and the frightened. Weneed to be in their comforting presenceagain.”

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VAnguard9-11 One-Year Anniversary

20 September/October 2002

There is a red, white and blue wreath hanging in the window ofArlene Howard’s Long Island home. It was given to her by a localCub Scout troop, one of many tokens the Northport, N.Y., VAMedical Center volunteer and World War II veteran received fol-lowing the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that took the life of her son,Port Authority police officer George Howard. He was one of morethan 300 firefighters and police officers who gave their lives thatmorning doing what they loved, helping those in need.

The remains of George Howard were found on Sept. 19 when arescue worker spotted a shiny black pistol jutting from a mound oftwisted steel and charred concrete at Ground Zero. He reacheddown to pick it up and found it snugly strapped in Howard’s holster.

Arlene Howard gave her son’s police badge to President GeorgeW. Bush when he visited New York City in the days after the at-tack. Her gesture signaled the start of a special relationship. Presi-dent Bush spoke movingly of their encounter during his address to ajoint session of Congress on Sept. 20. He held her son’s badge for allto see and called it “a reminder of lives that ended, and a task thatdoes not end.”

Nine months later, when President Bush was in Port Elizabeth,N.J., on June 24, 2002, to honor Port Authority heroes and outlinenew security measures, he spotted Arlene Howard in the crowd,thanked her for coming, and spoke about what she means to him.“Arlene is my friend,” he said. “She represents so many moms anddads and loved ones who mourn for the loss of a child or a husbandor a wife. I appreciate your strength, Arlene. I love seeing you everytime.”

The President may love to see her, but the occasion is always asomber affair. It’s been a year of loss for Arlene Howard. “Tragic,” is

how she described it. She said keeping busyhas helped, but in the end, it’s just notenough. “Every time you think of September11, you relive all the things that happenedthat day …it’s very sad.”

It started slow—a card here, a letterthere. But as America mourned the loss ofthousands of lives, Arlene Howard receivedan outpouring of support. One day, she re-ceived a silver angel in the mail from awoman in Missouri. Young ladies with a jun-ior American Legion Auxiliary in Iowa senther an American flag quilt. Schoolchildrenfrom across the country sent teddy bears,cards and other mementos. “People havebeen so beautiful,” she said. “People from allover have poured out their hearts and keptus in their prayers.”

On the one-year anniversary of the at-tack, she and her family attended a Mass inNew York City held for the families of the75 Port Authority employees killed in theattack. “God must have needed some goodmen up in heaven,” she said, “because hetook them on September 11.”

President Bush greets Arlene Howard, VA volunteer and mother of a victim ofthe World Trade Center attacks.

Arlene HowardThey Died Doing What They Loved

“I don’t know how to respond when peopleask if I’m OK,” admitted Bill Nelson, Ph.D.,a longtime VA employee whose wife Gingerwas killed in the World Trade Center at-tacks. “I mean, no, I’m not OK. How couldanyone be OK? But I’m trying to move onwith my life.”

He paused, excused himself for “still be-ing so emotional,” collected his thoughts,and continued. “Sometimes, it seems like it’sbeen an incredibly long year, and othertimes I wake up and it seems like it hap-pened just last week. It hasn’t been very easyto find closure, because it’s constantly inyour face,” he said, referring to the Sept. 11media blitz.

He spoke about the challenges he’sfaced over the past year, his memories ofGinger, and the things he’s done to preserveher legacy. Ginger was senior vice presidentfor an investment firm headquartered on the93rd floor of the North Tower, one floor from

Bill NelsonNot OK, but moving on

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO

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9-11 One-Year Anniversary

The remains of Janice Scott were found un-der rubble and debris in the E Ring at thePentagon, the spot where American AirlinesFlight 77 slammed into the building onSept. 11. They were identified using DNAtests from blood samples taken from hermother, sisters and two young daughters.

The autopsy report provides the detailsof her death, but her husband, VA employeeAbraham Scott, doesn’t want to read it. Hehas, however, been to the Pentagon a coupleof times since Janice was killed. He first vis-ited in April, when the Department of De-fense unveiled its America’s Heroes Memo-rial dedicated to the 184 victims of the Pen-tagon attack. He also visited the impact siteonce it was renovated to see where Janice’sremains were found.

Each trip takes an emotional toll. “It’sextremely hard for me to come back in thePentagon,” said Scott, a retired Army fi-nance officer who joined the NationalCemetery Administration two years ago.

He tries not to dwell on the day hiswife was murdered, but it’s hard not to think about her loving, up-beat spirit and how it was taken away so abruptly. Keeping busy hashelped, he said.

He attends Monday night meetings of a grief support group forfamilies of those killed in the attack, and he is on a steering com-mittee for a 9-11 memorial at the Pentagon. The final design will beselected in November 2002 and the memorial will be dedicated bySeptember 2003. A statement on the Pentagon memorial Web sitefrom families who lost loved ones in the attack emphasizes that thememorial “should instill the ideas that patriotism is a moral duty,that freedom comes at a price, and that the victims of this attackhave paid the ultimate price.”

Scott visited the Pentagon again on Sept. 11, 2002, but thistime, he brought his daughters, Angel and Crystal, as well asJanice’s mother, brother and five sisters. They joined the more than12,000 people who gathered at the Pentagon to observe the one-year anniversary of the attack.

Scott and his family visited the America’s Heroes Memorial,where Janice’s name is etched on a large black panel, and they gath-ered outside the impact site to observe a moment of silence at 9:37a.m., the moment the hijacked airliner slammed into the building.The observance stirred powerful emotions. “It really took a toll onme,” said Scott. “Janice was such a loving mother and wife, Icouldn’t have asked for a better soul mate.”

Abe ScottVisiting Pentagon a Painful Experience

the impact site. Everyone in her office waskilled.

While thousands of New Yorkers gath-ered at Ground Zero to remember the fallen,Nelson was on the other side of the country.He spent Sept. 5-12 in Washington stateconducting ethics training and meeting withcolleagues from the National Center forEthics in Health Care. “I chose to be out ofthe city on the 11th,” he said, explainingthat he had been to Ground Zero manytimes for personal reflection. Last MemorialDay, a New York City Fire Departmentchaplain escorted him to the “pit” atGround Zero where steel beams in the shapeof a cross stood as a tribute to the dead.

He woke up early on the one-year anni-versary of the attacks and met with twoclose friends in his hotel room to watch thelive broadcast from New York. Later, he andethics center staff attended the Mozart Re-quiem held in Seattle. He said friends andcolleagues helped him through the past yearand they continue to show their support to-day. When he returned to his office at theManhattan campus of the VA New YorkHarbor Healthcare System, he found dozensof e-mail messages on his computer from VAemployees he’s met over the years andfriends expressing their concern and sympa-thy. He said he was “amazed” at how muchpeople seemed to care. “Throughout all thistime, my colleagues have been with me, andthat’s what really helped me get throughthis.”

Ginger may be gone, but her legacy re-mains. Nelson, along with family members,friends and colleagues, are preserving hermemory through the Ginger Risco Memo-rial Scholarship fund at Ginger’s alma mat-ter, Columbia University. The first scholar-ship was presented on Sept. 26. Near theirapartment on the Upper West Side, officialsplanted a maple tree in Riverside Park inGinger’s honor. Each year, its broad leaveswill put on a fall show of color, changingfrom green, yellow and orange before erupt-ing in fiery red, the color of her hair. Thepark sits across the street from their apart-ment and he can see the young sapling eachtime he leaves or enters his building.

Bill Nelson may not be OK, but he’smoving on with life the best he can.

Abe Scott visits theAmerica’s Heroes Memo-rial at the Pentagon.

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VAnguard9-11 One-Year Anniversary

22 September/October 2002

Sept. 11 touched all Americans. As the nationmarked the one-year anniversary of the attacks,VAnguard invited VA employees to share how theevents of that day affected them personally. Nearly 220of you did. Here are some of your stories.

I was at home with my daughter, who had recently hada kidney and pancreas transplant. I was particularly joy-ful regarding the miracles of modern medicine and thebenevolence of an unknown person who even in griefthought of giving life to another. In a matter of minutes,my feelings of joy and wonder were replaced with feel-ings of disbelief and then enormous sorrow. I somehowcould not reconcile the fact that even with all the amaz-ing things mankind has accomplished to give and savelives, some can so easily take life away simply because ofa different belief system.

Sharon PusateriNorth Chicago, Ill., VAMC

Who could ever imagine this date as being one of themost devastating days for all Americans? I could not be-lieve what I was hearing on the radio. As a mother wholost my 16-year-old daughter, Genevieve, 15 years agoto a drunk driver, I know what every mother of thoseAmericans felt at that very moment. I was getting readyfor work when I heard the news bulletin and I wasscared to leave the house, but then I remembered allthose men and women who fought for my freedom andwere not afraid to go to war. How could I not go towork?

Sophie J. GutierrezAlbuquerque, N.M., VAMC

I don’t think anyone was able to do an ounce of workthat day, that week, maybe even that month. We wentthrough the motions, doing what had to be done, butour minds and hearts were, and still are, in so many dif-ferent places. We are inspired by the heroic efforts of somany, those who left us that day and those who are stillwith us. We are amazed at the resilience of the humanspirit, not only of Americans, but also of many nationswho came to our side to stand for what’s right. We striveto be better people for our children, our families, our ex-tended families, our co-workers, our fellow Americans,

and our world family. We pray for the children who lostone, possibly both, parents. We think of those husbandsand wives who may still mourn and now must bear theirburdens alone. We count our blessings much more oftenthan we ever have in the past. We give thanks daily, re-gardless of how difficult they may be, for our own chil-dren, our siblings, our parents, extended family andfriends. We give thanks for our health and for every-thing else that we value.

Karen ScullyDayton, Ohio, VAMC

My 4-year-old granddaughter died of encephalitis thatvery day. It was viral and nothing could have been doneabout it. When I came home from the hospital andturned on the TV, I could not believe my eyes. I startedcrying all over again. Not only was I grieving for myloss, but the whole world was grieving. I realize nowthat life is too short. We must all be all that we can beand be grateful for the life that we live. I will never takeanything or anyone for granted. I will respect others, asI would have them respect me.

Deborah J. PriceLouisville, Ky., VARO

As a physician, I was taught to place my feelings asideand approach my patients in an objective, scientificmanner. I have witnessed individual tragedy and suffer-ing time and again and steadfastly maintained my pro-fessionalism. On Sept. 11, 2001, I witnessed humantragedy on a scale that wrenched my heart to a degreethat was very painful. Prior to those horrific events, Iwasn’t sure that could be possible. The events of Sept.11 placed me more in touch with my empathetic nature.It also reinforced my love for the defenders of our na-tion. Hate war but love the warrior.

Roger G. Smith, M.D.Memphis, Tenn., VAMC

I have a young nephew who works on Wall Street. Themorning of the attack he was on the phone with afriend, a bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald, when thefirst terrorist-controlled plane hit the south tower of theWorld Trade Center. Among the last words my nephewheard that morning from his friend were these: “I’m re-

Reflection ...Reflection ...

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September/October 2002 23

9-11 One-Year Anniversary

ally scared, Mikey.” I never met the young man whosevoice was on the end of that phone line. And now, Inever will. But there has not been a day that goes bythat I don’t think of him. Or of a friend and business ac-quaintance of my own, Max Bielke, who died at thePentagon doing what he had spent his whole life doing,working for veterans. Or of those who killed them.

Larry DeMeoVA Central Office

I am a Catholic chaplain assigned to the PhiladelphiaVAMC since January. On Sept. 11, I was assigned to aparish in the Bronx and as a part-time chaplain at theBronx VAMC. Realizing the trauma that the explosionwas bound to cause, I went down to Ground Zero andjoined a team of medical, psychological, religious andother helping professionals to assist in any way possible.We were sent to the 92nd Street YMCA, where tablesand booths were set up with appropriate expertise.When the firefighters were escorted in, exhausted andsmelling of fumes and asbestos, I was filled with a com-bination of deep sorrow, awe and tremendous respect.The event has affected my ministry because in everyparish, place of worship, school, place of employment,someone knows someone who was affected irrevocably.It was as if a knife was plunged into the heart of NewYork City and its environs. I knew that I had to try togently remove that knife with pastoral care. As a peopleour faith was rattled as were the twin towers; rattled, butthey have not and will not be destroyed.

Michael LipareliPhiladelphia VAMC

There are some places that Texans won’t go as“flatlanders,” so it took a great deal of courage to agreeto ascend the tall towers of New York in the summer of1986. Our hospital was undertaking a new bond offeringto add space and services. We had journeyed to NewYork to achieve a bond rating through a large ratingagency. Having some time to kill between meetingswith the insurers and the rating agents, we took the op-portunity to do some sightseeing. The view from thetowers was spectacular in the morning light. Thisflatlander was astounded—my heart beat fast. So it hitespecially close to home as I witnessed the towers’ plighton the morning of Sept. 11, knowing that I had actuallystood atop those structures some 15 years before. I couldfeel my heart pounding just as it did when I scaled thoseheights. The place where I had witnessed such a spec-tacular view of the metropolis was now in shambles, anda cold chill settled upon me. How could this be happen-

ing in America? Weren’t we exempt from such terroristactivity? Our world is so different these days—distrustand anxiety abound. Never again will we feel free to letgo and just trust that our future is secure.

John ElliottVISN 17 (Dallas)

I was attending a medical meeting in Beijing, China, onSept. 11. As I watched the events on CNN, I had afeeling of isolation and that I had been separated fromreal humanity. However, when I returned to the meet-ing the next day, the delegates from China and fromcountries all over the world expressed their sincere com-passion and condolences to us as Americans. We werenow part of the world family and as vulnerable to terror-ism as everyone else. We were proud to stand with themagainst this evil.

H.B. Othersen Jr., M.D.Charleston, S.C., VAMC

As a VA area emergency manager, I was assigned underthe Federal Response Plan to Ground Zero. The sceneof devastation was beyond my wildest expectations. Sev-eral of my colleagues and I had worked assignments atthe WTC NYC Office of Emergency Management EOCmany times, yet all that was left were mammoth debrispiles. Occasionally my thoughts wander back to thosedays and nights of September working at Ground Zero,with smoke still rising from the debris piles, along withthe thick dust and the smells that accompanied it and Ithink of it as all a dream. Then reality takes hold and Irealize that it (WTC) and the people are no longerthere. It saddens me more than words can express.

Jack F. FlynnVA Hudson Valley Health Care System

My husband and I are both 20-plus years retired U.S.Naval Hospital Corpsmen. Two days after the 11th mytwo oldest sons enlisted in the Navy; one is now on acarrier off the coast of Afghanistan and the other willcomplete boot camp this fall. While I am scared todeath of the outcome of our upcoming military actionsto combat terrorism, it warms my heart to know that weinstilled in our sons the pride to decide that it’s their pa-triotic duty to protect our freedom, no matter what thecost.

Debbie RosenthalNorth Chicago, Ill., VAMC

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VAnguard9-11 One-Year Anniversary

24 September/October 2002

Called to DutyCalled to DutyAccording to VA’s Office of Human Resources and Administration, more than 500 VA employees in the Reserveand National Guard have been mobilized since Sept.11, 2001. Some have since returned to VA, while others re-main on active duty. VAnguard salutes their efforts with a display of their names here.*

ALBANY • Albert A. Bruton • Albert Delaunay • Tony J. Griffin • Gregory J. Masiello • Eric C. Mayo • Walter Rivera • ArthurE. Robinson • R.A. Schmidbauer • Harold J. Scott • ALBUQUERQUE • Richard W. Almeter • Joe D. Ayala • William R. Brady• Lionel J. Gagner Jr. • Stephanie K. Henderson • Darcy B. Kinslow • Richard S. Larson • Elizabeth H. Lickliter • Daniel B.Miranda • John W. Owen III • Julie A. Salcido • Tina M. Sanders • Christian R. Schlicht • Peter J. Tanzilli • ALTOONA •James R. Boulware • Yvonne C. Hand • Michael A. Zerbee • AMARILLO • Timothy I. Garcia • John H. Gerald • JamesHenderson III • Eric T. Rice • AMERICAN LAKE • Lynda Ann Ash • Lisa A. Chisa • ANN ARBOR • Gary A. WandmacherJr. • Scott A. Wiseman • ARTESIA • Kimberly D. Miller • ASHEVILLE • Randall W. Clayton • John R. Hettinga • RaymondS. Meserve • Joseph G. Miller • Charles D. Rogers • Edward C. Tamasovich • Patrick L. Wood • ATLANTA • Zanetta M.Caldwell • Frank E. Holder • Richard L. Lewis • Diane M. McCormic • Janice M. Northstar • Linda M. Williams • AUGUSTA •James L. Bartlett • Leslie W. Daly • Jerry B. White Jr. • BALTIMORE • Harold B. Archer • Samuel Hoffman • BATAVIA • Ri-chard H. Charache • Stephen F. Coville II • Edward A. Miller • Joseph J. Penkszyk • Thomas F. Pratt • BATH • Henry S. FarynaJr. • Michael A. Gilman • Carl E. Haneline • Brian C. Lynk • BATTLE CREEK • Kevin M. Grady • Todd W. Pushee • TimothyD. Stoken • BAY PINES • Lionel R. Barela • Arthur D. Forest • Christopher L. Harrison • Jose P. Jardin • Dyneil Maxwell •BEDFORD • Robert C. Goes • BIG SPRING • Ricky Cadenhead • Juan D. Perez • BILOXI • Joe G. Bryant • Margaret L. Giv-ens • Evelyn V. Henry • Kris L. Molloy • Carol P. Moran • Treani L. Thompson • Bryant K. White • BIRMINGHAM • Tyrone P.Nash • BOISE • Timothy A. Gibson • Dana Rowley • Paul P. Vaught • BOSTON • John H. Suter • BRAINTREE • KennethW. Coburn Jr. • BRECKSVILLE • Sonya L. Boles • Dale E. Wood • BROCKTON • Anne M. Priestman • BRONX • RichardColon • Angel Echevarria • Kim D. Farrier • Joel Giambrone • Keith A. Miller • Richard Rodriguez • Michael A. Swinson •Simond S. Tam • Ricardo Toro • BROOKLYN • Richard Andrew Bros • Maribel Fradera • Belle Ng-Lamboy • Wilfred M.Pantoja • Ralph J. Puma • BUFFALO • George J. Burnett • Paul C. Landwehr Jr. • Craig W. Meinking • Richard P. Myers •Russell C. Talma • BUTLER • Christopher M. Baylock • Terry R. Wingfield • CAMBRIDGE • Sherry L. Glascox •CANANDAIGUA • Horace Austin • Edward E. Emerson • Ronald S. Patrick • James E. Scheele Jr. • CALVERTON • BertramW. Delmage • CASTLE POINT • Richard H. Bard • CAVE CREEK • David B. Miller • CHARLESTON • Cindy G.Lundhagen • John B. Simmons • Paul B. Wallace • CHEYENNE • Kristine E. Mills • James R. Shell • William J. Webber • Dou-glas L. Willyerd • CHILLICOTHE • David M. Ackley • Mark C. Mauri • CINCINNATI • Anne E. Creekmore •CLARKSBURG • Bernard T. Corley • CLEVELAND • Robert J. Bordeaux • Daniel C. Mashek • John C. Turner • Todd J. We-ber • COATESVILLE • Gerald J. Bonmer • Kirk M. Fernitz • Joseph Keary • Todd S. Smith • COLUMBIA (MO) • Paul F.Hopkins • Tearra A. Tauai • COLUMBIA (SC) • Stephen R. Solomon • DALLAS • Gary K. Cravens • Timothy C. Maccartney• Jeanette L. Sterner • Rhonda G. Steward • DAYTON • Lawrence R. Schoppe Jr. • Warren D. Shafford • DENVER • ThomasR. Ahern • Jonathan P. Beck • Hosea Johnson • Juan M. Rangel • Gary L. Schuler • Paul Sherbo • DETROIT • JenniferCarrollharris • Robert K. Vincent • DES MOINES • Douglas C. Nielsen • Stacey L. Zedlitz • DUBLIN • Kenneth A. Walker •DURHAM • Pauline F. Brault • Daryl B. Green • David W. Lewis • James M. Neblett III • Paulette A. Williams • EASTORANGE • Gregory N. Barr • Mee-Ying Y. Chung • Michael Ferrara • Audrey L. Hinds • George F. Kelly • Yvonne P. Paden •Luis A. Toro • Arcadio N. Torres • EL PASO • Jose Pena • FAIRFIELD • James J. Picano • FARGO • Mark O. Jensen • Brad-ley M. Kasson • Alan E. Sporre • Mark A. Veitenheimer • FARMINGDALE • Roderick O. Farmer • Leonard J. Viscio •FAYETTEVILLE (AR) • Cynthia L. Barnica • Jacqueline D. Buford • FAYETTEVILLE (NC) • Jamie L. Bowen • Hwa IngKang • Mary L. Maywhether • Evelyn Ortiz • James A. Porter • Micchicco A. Thompson • FORT HARRISON • Randy Butala• FORT MEADE • William D. Deitz • FORT HOWARD • Melvin Anderson • Stephen I. Deutsch • FORT SMITH • Kyle D.Huggins • FRESNO • Jeffrey W. Barnes • Thomas C. Broach • Lee E. Scott • GAINESVILLE • Lonnie N. Crocker • Traci L.Davis • Lanas E. Dortch • Randall P. James • Mark R. Rausch • Michael S. Santana • William M. Story • Michael J. Watts •GRAND ISLAND • Ervin D. Hansen • GRAND JUNCTION • Debra S. Brauchler • Karl E. Coleman • GULFPORT • ClaraT. Saucier • HAMPTON • Sheila E. Carter • Gene H. Cox Jr. • Anthony S. Curling • Clifefun Goodman • Debra Overton •Sheilda N. Ruffin • Charles A. Smith Jr. • Lawrence I. Strauss • HARTFORD • John A. Lankford II • HINES • William J. BijouJr. • James R. Grigalunas • Tony L. Hoover • Erika Luster • Roderick R. Owens • HONOLULU • Faleala A. Taito • HOUS-TON • Erik M. Baker • Arturo Chavarria • James T. Dunphy • Blaine L. Givens • Kirk E. Hill • Joshua W. Malone • Karen L.Porter • Margie M. Raymond • Mechelle L. Register • Tanzie A. Washington • HUNTINGTON • Pablo L. Gonzales • Gregory

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September/October 2002 25

9-11 One-Year Anniversary

E. Palmer • Danny H. Plumley Jr. • Dale A. Webster • INDIANAPOLIS • Danny R. Edrington • Kaye Elise Edwards • HarriettA. Frame • Steven E. Kuhnlein • JACKSON • Marc S. Allen • Robert H. Palmer • Marti D. Reynolds • JACKSONVILLE •Mark A. West • JEFFERSON BARRACKS • Christopher P. Myers • John D. Owings • LAKE CITY • Thomas E. Allen • RalphCasselli III • LAS VEGAS • Robert C. Corrales • LEAVENWORTH • Everett C. Gruver • LEBANON • Andrew A. Arnold •Donald I. Lindman • Jeffrey A. Rittle • LEXINGTON • Kelly R. Baton • Arthur L. Cargill • Robert G. Henry • Joseph W. Man-ning • Jonell S. Nutter • Cindy S. Renaker • LITTLE ROCK • James P. Hall • Matthew J. Miller • John R. Mosley • David C.Paladino • Sean P. Reynolds • Veda F. Storay • Tony A. Thurman • LOMA LINDA • Margarita N. Palenzuela • LONG BEACH• Gregory F. Falcon • Pamela E. Prete • LOS ANGELES • Joseph Bryant • Francisco Hurtado • Brian S. Sands • LOUISVILLE• Donnie P. Dorsey • Patricia J. Gorden • Emma M. House • Barbara J. Kolb • Deborah A. Peck • Gary M. Wathen • LYONS •Steven A. Brickman • Amelic C. Deasa • MADISON • Marilyn Schwab • MANCHESTER • Dennis M. Brien • MARTINEZ •Raul A. Altares • MARTINSBURG • Larry A. Allen • Jean M. Barnhart • Billy Max Boggs • Todd M. Butts • James E. Clark •Lorinze Danley Jr. • Vincent R. Hodges • Sheila M. Lewis • Barbara A. Pezzello • Richard D. Robinson • John L. Shade Jr. •Michael A. Sinkfield • Todd C. Starry • Wayne A. Stewart • James R. Wade Jr. • MATHER • Jesse A. Armstrong • Kenneth E.Gibson • Mitzy Maldonado • MCCLELLAN AFB • David G. Manfredi • Jayme L. Mason • MEMPHIS • Marilyn M. Allen •Keith D. Hill Sr. • Donald A. Kroll • Edward C. Lane • Claudio Monserrate • MIAMI • Emir Gilberto Reyes • Angel E. Santos •MILWAUKEE • Thomas J. Brennan • Alyssa N. Kopp • Thomas J. Snieg • MINDEN • Robert N. Koontz • MINNEAPO-LIS • Joseph N. Safraniec • Daniel B. Starks • Debra S. Hodnett Walker • MONTGOMERY • Tracy D. Forman • Michael E.Peten • MONTROSE • Ralph W. Costanzo • Robert D. Hansen • Anthony J. Yonnone • MOUNTAIN HOME • Robert W.Lamberson • MURFREESBORO • Rebecca J. Fraley • Jimmy Gaither Jr. • Beverly K. Groogan • Michael S. Osborn •MUSKOGEE • Terry R. Scantlen • Kevin L. Steele • Devon D. Sullivan • NASHVILLE • Isaac Atkins III • Pamela M. Collins• Christopher S. Stempson • NEW ALBANY • Susan E. Schiller • NEW YORK • Ada R. Arroyo • Nathaniel Frazier Jr. •Vallary Hamilton • Patrick L. Lambert • Orlando D. Pinnock • Rubin D. Rivera • Edwin Robles • NEW ORLEANS • David M.Boudreaux • Sharon L. Davis • Christy D. Eaves • LeBaron J. Fisher • Tommy F. Hamilton • Tonya L. Welch • NORTH CHI-CAGO • Julio A. Gonzalez • Samuel L. Moore • Judy S. Vega • NORTHAMPTON • Timothy G. Brock • Timothy E. Chilson •Andrew T. Mitchell • NORTHPORT • Gerard R. Balaker • Andrew S. Barnes • Richard A. Donato • Dominick R. Golio •Donald E. Norton • Lorenzo A. Vizcaino • OAKLAND • Dany E. Felix • OKLAHOMA CITY • Brian L. Davie • Homer J.Frisby • Norman N. Tucker • OMAHA • Sylvia L. Coleman • ORLANDO • Debra T. Ward • PALO ALTO • Marites M.Garcia • PARKERSBURG • Robert G. Given Jr. • Rachelle R. Hewitt • PERRY POINT • Keith B. Lawson • Ronald L.Luzetsky • PHILADELPHIA • John W. Ciano • Warren M. Cohen • Juan G. Gonzalez • PHOENIX • Michael E. Barnes •Larry B. Frechette • Marcel M. Jeanisse • Keril J. Rieger • Leanne D. Weldin • PITTSBURGH • Roseanne C. Bedillion • EdwardR. Dickerson • Amber L. Fisher • William E. Laitinen • Richard L. Norman • Stephanie E. Wright • POPLAR BLUFF • DelbertC. Barks • PORTLAND • Fredrick Bender • Mary L. Childers • Carl M. Falk • David A. Gabler • Suellen Holmes • Kirk D.Rasmussen • Brian S. Roth • Suzanne L. Scott • PROVIDENCE • Raymond J. Aubin • Deborah D. Pacheco • Mildred Rodriguez• RENO • Dan W. Bolton • Wanda Martinson-Castro • Zola M. Ferguson • Michael D. Petty • ROANOKE • Kevin R. Thomp-son • ROSEBURG • Robert L. Flaherty • Daniel S. Murphy • Matthew A. Skidgel • SALEM (OR) • William H. Welborn •SALISBURY • Steven L. Jones • Timothy V. Mauldin • Donald R. McIntyre Jr. • Leslie P. Norman • SALT LAKE CITY •Walter M. Adam • David S. Archibald • Tieg B. Hamer • Andrew L. Juergens • Michael J. Nielsen • David C. Ziegenbusch •SAN ANTONIO • Robert P. Farrar • Eleonore Paunovich • Randy L. Perfecto • Michael R. Rice • Juan J. Sanchez Jr. • Juan R.Sandoval • Gloria J. Shean • Martha S. Wilkins • SAN DIEGO • Scott K. Davis • Debra A. Gautreaux • Johnny M. Lewis Jr. •Ronald D. Valentine • SEATTLE • Idenne M. Whetsel • SHERIDAN • David W. Jones • James C. Wiltse • SHREVEPORT •Terence W. Whatley • SPOKANE • Dennis A. Lee • Barbara J. Parbs • ST. GEORGE • Kasey Sims • ST. LOUIS • Shane E.Cayson • Richard G. Feldmeier • Ruth R. Henderson • Lee E. Hill • Kenneth R. Person • Devonshea D. Smith • Douglas Townes• Phyllis A. Townsend • Mark L. Williams • ST. PAUL • Theresa M. Hurley • ST. PETERSBURG • Mary L. Farquhar • DeniseFoster-Williams • Janet K. Gordon • Lillie Y. Jackson • Charles L. Kimberger • Jose A. Martinez • Martha P. Silva • Nora D.Stokes • Patrick J. Zondervan • SYRACUSE • David W. Altieri • William J. Bivens • Mark W. Burr • Daniel G. Cook • David J.Evangelista • Thaddeus U. Hairston • Robert J. Kasulke • Paul F. Scaramuzzino • Corbett Smith • Jaushua Stewart • TAMPA •Robert W. Ross • Linda C. Smith • TEMPLE • Hiram C. Carter • Jack M. Davis • Audrey M. McMurray • Gary R. Salmon •TOGUS • Carolyn A. Doherty • Patrick P. Gagne • Mary E. Swain • TOMAH • Larry A. Bogle • TOPEKA • Howard C. Miller• TUCSON • Frederick M. Springer • TUSKEGEE • Lloyd Clements Jr. • Nelson McCloud • Michael G. Stinson • WASH-INGTON, D.C. • Perryn B. Ashmore • Tracee D. Barnes • Donald M. Boseman • Gaye E. Broadway • Rosemary Bryan • Allen J.Cannon • Robert T. Frame • Mary E. Gross • Patrick Harris • Robert B. Holbrook • Arna A. Hunter • Thomas J. Kniffen • Den-nis B. Lee • Michion D. Lewis • Robert M. Lucas • Marianna T. Mardeusz • Dani L. Marks • Stanley E. Mitchell • JulietteMosteller • John A. Patterson • Veronica D. Randolph • Maggie G. Rountree • William M. Sivley • Lamont E. Stokes • RicardoWilkins • Thomas A. Yeager • WEST HAVEN • Kevin A. Muravnick • Charles D. Torres • WEST ROXBURY • William A.Gavazzi • Mark E. Meaney • WHITE CITY • John H. Mitchell • Gregg L. Ramsdell • Gary W. Thompson • WICHITA • Vir-ginia L. Droney • Barbara L. King

*list compiled by the Office of Human Resources and Administration as of Aug. 29, 2002

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26 September/October 2002

The Korean War was once la-beled a “police action” andlater called a “conflict.”Words used to describe thewar had a powerful influenceon public perception, ulti-mately leading some to callKorea “The Forgotten War.”To the men and women whofought there and the familiesof the 36,000 Americanskilled on the battlefield, theKorean War is anything butforgotten.

In recognition of thewar’s 50th anniversary, VACentral Office hosted a cer-emony July 25 to honor Ko-rean War veterans. It was asimple ceremony, but for theveterans and families who at-tended, it was a day to re-member. The veterans, allfriends or relatives of VA em-ployees, came to Washing-ton, D.C., to receive the Re-public of Korea Korean WarService Medals. The medalswere initially offered morethan 50 years ago, but neverissued.

Following a tour of theWhite House, the veteransand family members gath-ered in VA Central Office,where Vice President RichardCheney joined Secretary

Principi and others in honor-ing their wartime service. Be-fore introducing the VicePresident, Secretary Principispoke about the unwaveringcourage and determinationKorean War veterans showedin combat. “They did notshrink from battle; they didnot yield to fear; they didnot abandon their cause,” hesaid.

Vice President Cheneycalled the ceremony a “trib-ute to a distinguished groupof Americans.” He notedthat Korean War veterans sel-dom receive the attentionthey really deserve. “On be-half of the President and thenation, I want to say ‘thankyou’ from all of us,” he said.

Ismael Colon, a privatein the Army during the Ko-rean War, was speechless afterthe ceremony. Perhaps he wasstill recovering from jet lag.His family surprised him byflying him in from PuertoRico the day before the cer-emony to show him howmuch they honor and respecthis military service. Colonsaid he had no idea what wasin store for him in Washing-ton, D.C., and that the cer-emony was something he’ll

never forget. His daughterRayda Nadal is a health sys-tems specialist in the Officeof the Inspector General.

A spirited cheer went upfrom the crowd whenBridget Downey received theKorean War Service Medalon behalf of her late husbandJoseph Downey. An Irish im-migrant, Downey wasdrafted into the Army andfought in Korea just twoyears after arriving in theUnited States. In the audi-ence were 31 members of herfamily, most of whom drovefrom New York to attend theceremony.

His daughter, EileenDowney, is a 28-year VA em-ployee and program analystin the VHA Revenue Office.She said the family wanted toattend the ceremony as atribute to her mother andfather.

Jesse Pardue flew infrom Selma, Ala., for the cer-emony. He served in Koreaduring 1950 and 1951 as anArmy rifleman and platoonleader. After the ceremony,he and his family stopped offin the VA Central Officelobby to take a look at a spe-cial Korean War exhibit. Itincluded two of the original9-foot high molds used tocast statues that are part of

the Korean War Memorialon the National Mall, as wellas a selection of artifacts leftat the memorial over theyears.

Pardue stopped in frontof a display board of grainy,faded images. Pointing topictures of himself during thewar, his eyes misted as he de-scribed his experiences as a57-millimeter recoilless rifle-man. With a range of 4,300yards and the ability to takeout tanks and other heavyequipment, the 57-mm was amajor source of firepower.Pardue said the big gun alsodrew a good deal of enemyfire. He struggled at times ashe tried to share his combatmemories. “It’s a tale I’venever told,” he explained. Heis the nephew of WilliamHester, an exhibits specialist,who helped arrange themedal ceremony.

VA Central Office em-ployees came up with theidea for the medal presenta-tion while thinking of waysto mark the 50th anniversaryof the Korean War. They in-vited headquarters employeeswith relatives or friends whoserved in the war to partici-pate in the program. About25 veterans or next of kintook part in the medal cer-emony.

If we want to figure out thebest way to recruit youngvolunteers, why not ask thekids themselves, reasoned JimDelgado, director of VA’sVoluntary Service Office.That’s exactly what he didduring a focus group withsome of the best and bright-est youth volunteers who

VACO Employees Honor Korean War Veterans

Honoree Jesse Pardue and his family take a look at the KoreanWar exhibit in the lobby of VA Central Office.

Young Volunteers BrainstormRecruitment Strategies

came from across the countryto visit VA Central Office onAug. 6.

Some still in highschool, others in college, theyare all past recipients of ei-ther the James H. ParkeYouth Scholarship or theDisabled American VeteransCommander’s Youth Scholar-

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September/October 2002 27

around headquarters

ship. They came to VACO tobrainstorm strategies the De-partment can use to attractyounger volunteers. Theirideas included establishingstudent volunteer committeesat VA hospitals to focus localefforts, partnering withschools to conduct recruit-ment drives, and making sureyoung volunteers feel asthough they are part of theVA team.

Nineteen-year-old

Wendy Koegel began volun-teering at the Marion Cam-pus of the VA Northern In-diana Health Care Systemwhen she was 13. Her momand dad, Chris and DeeAnnKoegel, are both recreationtherapy specialists there.Wendy said the best idea sheheard at the meeting was tochange the way young peoplesee VA. “I think a lot of kidsdon’t really understand whatVA is,” she said. “They don’t

understand these are veteranswho served our country,these are our heroes.”

One idea the groupcame up with was to developa database of student assign-ments so potential volunteerscould go online to get a feelfor the types of opportunitiesavailable at VA. In true vol-unteer fashion, Adam Brown,a volunteer from the Topeka,Kan., VA Medical Center, of-fered to make it happen. Thecomputer engineering majorruns a computer consultingbusiness. “I’m the techie,” hesaid.

After brainstormingideas with Delgado and stafffrom the Voluntary ServiceOffice, the students met withDeputy Secretary Leo S.Mackay Jr., Ph.D., whotalked about VA’s role inAmerican society, its contri-butions to the past and ex-pectations for the future. Be-fore heading off to anothermeeting, he left them withsome encouraging words.“I’m glad that you spent

some time with us here to-day,” he said, “and for thoseof you who may be interestedin spending more time withus, in a career with VA, wesure do need you.”

So how did the brain-storming session turn out?Delgado said he was pleasedwith the results. “They havegiven us tremendous in-sight,” he said.

The brainstorminggroup was rounded out byGabriel Anzueto, from theSouth Texas Veterans HealthCare System; Danny Merced,a 20-year-old who has volun-teered at the Miami VAMCnearly half his life; PhilipNodhturft III, a DartmouthCollege sophomore whofounded the Tampa VA Jun-ior Intern Program at theJames A. Haley VeteransHospital; Frank Rios, a highschool senior who has volun-teered for the past seven yearsat the Miami VAMC; andMatthew Scott, a high schoolsenior who volunteers at theTampa VAMC.

“I’m embarrassed and quitehonestly, disappointed, inour performance,” admittedSecretary Anthony J.

Principi, referring to VA’strack record in awarding con-tracts to disabled veteran-owned small businesses.

“Obviously, we need someadvice.”

The comments cameduring a meeting with severalservice-disabled veterans whoown small businesses. UnderPublic Law 106-50, all fed-eral agencies are required toaward 3 percent of contractsto businesses owned by ser-vice-disabled veterans. Lastyear, VA fell far short, award-ing just one-quarter of 1 per-cent, and this year isn’t look-ing much better.

The low numbersprompted VA’s Office ofSmall and DisadvantagedBusiness Utilization to teamup with the Office of Acqui-sition and Materiel Manage-ment and form a task force

to address the issue. One ofthe first things they did wasto invite disabled veteranbusiness owners to VA Cen-tral Office to share their per-spectives on ways the De-partment can do a better job.

Randy Slager, presidentof Bethesda, Md.-basedCatapult Technology, Ltd.,an IT service and consultingbusiness, said he finds it ex-tremely difficult to do busi-ness with VA. He said otheragencies have taken steps tohelp small businesses. TheDepartment of Transporta-tion, for example, has ashort-term lending programin which they front up to 85percent of an award to a

Secretary Seeks Advice of Disabled Veteran Entrepreneurs

Disabled veteran entrepreneurs share their perspectives on howVA can do a better job of awarding contracts to businesses ownedby service-disabled veterans.

Youth volunteers from all over the country came to Washington tobrainstorm strategies the Department can use to attract more oftheir peers to volunteering.

Continued on page 28

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Former VA Secretary JesseBrown died Aug. 15 at hishome in Warrenton, Va. The58-year-old Vietnam veteranand former Disabled Ameri-can Veterans official hadamyotrophic lateral sclerosis,also known as Lou Gehrig’s

disease, and lower motorneuron syndrome, which at-tacks nerve cells in the brainand spinal cord.

Brown, who served asVA Secretary from 1993 to1997, took pride in callinghimself the Secretary “for”Veterans Affairs. He orderedsensitivity training for all VAemployees as part of a cam-paign he called “Putting Vet-erans First.”

Brown was himself acombat-disabled veteran.While on patrol in Da Nangduring the Vietnam War, theyoung Marine was woundedwhen an enemy bullet shat-tered his right arm, leaving itpartially paralyzed.

Under Brown’s leader-ship, VA decentralized itshealth care structure, began

to offer more outpatient, pri-mary care services, and ex-panded benefits for formerprisoners of war and veteranssuffering from Agent Orangeand Gulf War-related ill-nesses. Brown is also creditedwith increasing VA servicesto homeless veterans with agrants program, and expand-ing programs for women vet-erans and veterans sufferingfrom PTSD.

He vigorously and suc-cessfully fought budget cutsfavored at the time by theOffice of Management andBudget and Congress, win-ning funding increases forVA in four annual federalbudgets. He often said thathe won those funding battlesbecause “we hold the moralhigh ground.”

Brown began his longperiod of service with theDAV in 1967 as a nationalservice officer trainee in Chi-cago. Transferring to Wash-ington, D.C., in 1973, herose through the ranks, even-tually serving as theorganization’s executive direc-tor from 1989 to 1993.

After leaving VA, heformed Brown & Associates,a planning and marketingconsulting firm.

Former President BillClinton and SecretaryPrincipi were among the dig-nitaries who attendedBrown’s funeral service at theNational Cathedral in Wash-ington on Aug. 21. Theformer Secretary was buriedwith full honors at ArlingtonNational Cemetery.

In Memoriam: Former Secretary Jesse Brown

small business.“One of the big prob-

lems in running a small busi-ness,” said Slager, “is havingthe capital up front once youwin the award. This programhas been critical for us. Youmay want to take a closelook at it.” Slager’s companyreceived DOT’s 2001 SmallBusiness of the Year Award.

Another disabled veteranbusiness owner, Allen Cage,president of AOC Solutions,Inc., predicted that VAwouldn’t meet its contractinggoals unless managementmakes them mandatory.“You’ve got to provide someincentives,” he said.

He gave an example ofhow his company lost a bidon a VA contract to a bigbusiness, but ended up doingthe job as a subcontractor.“Small business can handle alot of those jobs—just give

us a chance,” he said. He alsosuggested that VA create anational database of disabledveteran-owned small busi-nesses. Then, if a hospital, re-gional office, VISN or otherorganization needs to con-tract for services, they cancheck the database and solicitbids from companies listedthere.

Do you want to solicit acontract from a disabled vet-eran-owned business? Thebest way to start, accordingto Scott F. Denniston, direc-tor of the Office of Smalland Disadvantaged BusinessUtilization, is by calling theVA Center for Veterans En-terprise at 1-866-584-2344or visiting their Web site atwww.va.gov/vetbiz. He saiddoing business with veteransis a sound decision for VA.“This is who we are andwhat we’re about.”

Continued from page 27

Best-selling author Tom Clancy was in Central Office onAug. 15 signing copies of his latest Jack Ryan novel, Red Rab-bit. The line of employees waiting to have their books signedby the former Maryland insurance broker stretched down thehall outside the food court. Clancy’s novel is being sold in VAcanteens to help promote the retail sales and services providedby the stores to veterans and employees nationwide.

The prolific writer is the second major celebrity to joinVA Canteen Service’s marketing efforts. In the spring,NASCAR legend Richard Petty gave VA permission to use hisname and likeness in Canteen Service ads and promotions.

Writer Clancy Draws a Crowd

Tom Clancy greets Michael A. Moore, executive assistant in theOffice of Policy and Planning.

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VAnguard medical advances

September/October 2002 29

Flu Shots Benefit theElderly, Study ShowsLong before the official endof summer, doctors beganpreparing for the return of anold nemesis by pumping upthe benefits of the flu shot.They’re calling for an in-crease in influenza vaccina-tions, particularly for peopleolder than 65.

Their message is sup-ported by a study of 100,000people tracked over two fluseasons. In the study, whichwas published in August inthe journal Clinical InfectiousDiseases, lead author Dr.Eelko Hak, of the Minne-apolis VA Medical Center,noted that the benefits of theflu vaccine are even greaterfor people who are over 65and have an existing medicalcondition. An accompanyingeditorial written by a physi-cian from the Mayo Clinichighlights the dangers of theflu—approximately 20,000Americans die from influenzain an average year, just aboutas many who die from HIV.

A previous study con-ducted at the Center forChronic Disease OutcomesResearch Center at the Min-neapolis VAMC found thenation could save $1.3 bil-lion a year if all full-timeworkers, ages 18-64, receivedannual flu shots.

Buffalo Study HelpsSolve Lung InfectionMysteryClever bacteria populationsmay be changing just enoughto keep ahead of patients’immune systems, causing amysterious intensification ofChronic Obstructive Pulmo-nary Disease (COPD)—thefourth leading cause of deathin the United States. Morecommonly know as chronicbronchitis and emphysema,COPD affects nearly 15 mil-

lion people nationwide.Researchers at the Buf-

falo, N.Y., VA Medical Cen-ter have ended decades ofcontroversy by proving popu-lations of infectious bacteriaare changing constantly inthe lungs of COPD patients,allowing the bacteria to strikeagain and again—sometimeswith deadly results. Theirfindings, appearing in theAug. 15 issue of The NewEngland Journal of Medicine,may explain why healthy im-mune systems cannot preventthese recurring infections.

Intensified COPDsymptoms deprive patients ofoxygen through severe short-ness of breath and coughingthat produces thick, stickysputum (phlegm). Research-ers studied samples of spu-tum from 81 patients over aperiod of 56 months. Find-ings show patients werefighting populations of bac-teria that repeatedly changedover time, possibly keepingone step ahead of immunedefenses.

Many of the patients’immune systems seemed tobe working normally, yetbacterial infections re-bounded after apparently be-ing eliminated. Thisprompted researchers to lookmore closely at the nature ofthe bacteria. Instead of sim-ply measuring the size andintensity of a bacterial infec-tion, Drs. Sanjay Sethi andTim Murphy led a VA inves-tigation of the bacteria’s mo-lecular identity.

They suspected acquir-ing a new strain of bacteriabrought on the dangerous in-fections, causing the alreadysick patients to cough, chokeand experience severe short-ness of breath. Proving thiswould require a new way toidentify one strain of bacteriafrom another. The study suc-

cessfully recovered about4,000 separate strains of bac-teria. New technology in-volving DNA testing enabledinvestigators to study themolecular signature of thebacteria, resulting in ex-tremely accurate identifica-tion.

“People with COPDmay have nothing wrongwith their immune systemsbut they keep getting theserecurrent infections—ourfindings may explain whythis happens. It appears thatwhen a person gets an infec-tion and makes a good im-mune response, that responseis only good for that particu-lar bacteria strain,” saidSethi. Investigators believetheir findings may lead tonovel ways to treat bacterialinfection. “We can use theseobservations to understandthe immune response to bac-teria and possibly developvaccines that keep pace withthe changing strains,” saidMurphy. Fifty patients areactively involved in this on-going study, and enrollmentcontinues. VA’s Medical Re-search Service will supportthe project through 2004.

VA and Harvard Univer-sity Sign TechnologyTransfer AgreementVA and Harvard MedicalSchool signed an agreementJuly 19 defining how theywill cooperate on turningshared research discoveriesinto commercially availablehealth care technologies.Harvard is the 39th academicaffiliate of VA to sign such anagreement, under which VAshares credit and financial in-terest in new inventions byresearchers with VA and aca-demic appointments, andworks with its universitypartners to bring them tomarket.

The goal of these agree-ments is to quickly move re-search advances from the labto clinical practice, whileproviding revenue to supportVA researchers.

The Harvard agreement,signed by Secretary Principiand Harvard Medical SchoolDean Joseph Martin, M.D.,Ph.D., also marked comple-tion of negotiations on a li-censing agreement betweenVA and a commercial firmfor an invention by VA re-searchers at the WestRoxbury Division of the VABoston Healthcare System.The invention, a device forstoring and preserving theheart and other organs fortransplant, is the first devel-oped, patented and licensedstrictly by VA without a uni-versity partner under VA’snew technology transfer pro-gram policy.

“This is an importantstep for VA because it repre-sents the first time our tech-nology transfer program hasbrought a VA invention fullcircle, from bench side tobedside, ‘in house,’” said pro-gram manager Mindy Aisen,M.D.

VA revised its technol-ogy transfer policy in 2000to ensure the Department re-ceives credit and financial re-wards for technologies devel-oped by its researchers. Previ-ously, academic affiliateswere allowed to pursue fullownership of inventions gen-erated in labs operating un-der joint VA-university aus-pices.

Under the new policy,Principi said, “VA is goingto get credit for the workour researchers have done,and are doing. If that workresults in financial gain, weare going to use that gain onbehalf of the veterans weserve.”

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VAnguardhave you heard

30 September/October 2002

Before resigning fromher position as Under Secre-tary for Memorial Affairs,Robin L. Higgins establishedan annual grant of up to$1,000 to pay the expensesfor one veteran each year toparticipate in the NationalVeterans Wheelchair Games.She named the grant theMichael Rosenberg AthleticAward, in honor of hergrandfather, a World War Iveteran. Her grandfatherserved in the 27th AeroSquadron from 1917-1919.He was treated in militaryhospitals and VA facilities af-ter losing his legs and an armto disease. The grant will goto a first-time athlete receiv-

ing treatment in a VA facilitywho would be unable to par-ticipate in the WheelchairGames without financial as-sistance. VA’s under secretaryfor health will make the se-lection.

Ten vet centers were des-ignated “Vet Centers of Ex-cellence” by an external panelof experts. “These are thecenters that have excelled inquality readjustment counsel-ing services,” said Dr.Alfonso Batres, chief officerof VA Readjustment Coun-seling Service. Team leadersat the 2002 Vet Centers ofExcellence are: RobertErwin, Anchorage, Alaska,

Vet Center; Cheryl Burgor,Santa Cruz, Calif., Vet Cen-ter; Maria Crane, St. Peters-burg, Fla., Vet Center; BetsyTolstedt, Evanston, Ill., VetCenter; Gregory Burham,Missoula, Mont., Vet Cen-ter; James Garrett, Albany,N.Y., Vet Center; JohnTownsley, Raleigh, N.C., VetCenter; Hilario Martinez,San Antonio Vet Center;Linda L. Parkes, Spokane,Wash., Vet Center; andJohnny Bragg, Morgantown,W. Va., Vet Center. There are206 vet centers nationwidethat annually serve morethan 130,000 veterans andhandle at least 900,000 visitsfrom veterans and their fam-ily members.

Retired Major GeneralWilliam A. Moorman, for-merly the Judge AdvocateGeneral of the Air Force, hasjoined VA to lead a review ofall VA regulations to makethem more user-friendly forveterans, veterans service or-ganization representativesand VA personnel. In addi-tion to sorting out what theU.S. Court of Appeals forVeterans Claims called a“confusing tapestry” of regu-lations, Moorman’s groupwill also establish and man-age a more standardized, effi-cient and open process to de-velop new regulations withinVA. The initial review of theregulations governing veter-ans’ and their families’ en-titlement to compensationand pension benefits wascompleted in early Septem-ber. The rewrite project forcompensation and pensionregulations is expected totake about two more years tocomplete.

July 10 was “Take YourSons to Work Day” at theSan Francisco VA Medical

Center, courtesy of theirEqual Employment Oppor-tunity Advisory Committee.A group of about 21 boys be-tween the ages of 8 and 18spent the day at the medicalcenter. They learned CPRand met with officers fromthe San Francisco police andfire departments, who spokeabout the dangers of drugsand gangs and the impor-tance of staying in school.

The Department of La-bor has created an Internetportal to hundreds of Websites containing informationon benefits and services avail-able for veterans, active-dutymilitary, reservists, and mem-bers of the National Guard.The e-VETS Resource Advi-sor Web site provides the de-tails on a variety of federaland state benefits, includingjob assistance, federal em-ployment, housing and edu-cation. Visit the site at:www.dol.gov/elaws/evets.htm.

A new software programcreated by VA is making iteasier for veterans service or-ganizations to prepare dis-ability claims on behalf ofveterans. Using the new soft-ware, a VSO representativewho holds power of attorneyfor a veteran can reviewmedical information in theveteran’s electronic record atVA health facilities. Previ-ously, they had to fill out astandard form and drop it inthe mail to request a copy ofmedical records. To ensureprivacy, the software limits auser’s access to the medicalrecord of only those patientsfor whom he or she holds avalid power of attorney. As asecond safeguard, the soft-ware provides read-only ac-cess, meaning users cannotadd, delete or modify therecord in any way.

“Tuned in to the Veteran” is the slogan for a pilot TVprogram called VATV taped in August at the Washing-ton, D.C., VA Medical Center. In the inaugural pro-gram, which was put together by the VHA Office ofSpecial Projects, a panel of VA experts in areas suchas eligibility, third-party payments, stroke and hepati-tis C addressed an audience of medical center pa-tients and family members.

As part of the program, the audience had the op-portunity to ask the panel specific questions about thetopics discussed. Dr. Robert H. Roswell, Under Secre-tary for Health, visited the studio to greet the veteransand participate in the program.

Host Adrian Cronauer, right, and VA Central Office panelistsKent Simonis, director of Health Administrative Services,left, and Bob Perreault, director of the Business Office, tapethe first edition of VATV at the Washington, D.C., VAMC.

Tuning in to the Veteran

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VAnguard honors and awards

September/October 2002 31

Dr. Rory Cooper, oneof the world’s foremost au-thorities in wheelchair design

and direc-tor of theCenter ofExcellencefor Wheel-chair andRelatedTechnologyat the VAPittsburgh

Healthcare System, receivedthe 22nd Olin E. TeagueAward on Sept. 18 during aceremony in the U.S.Capitol’s Cannon House Of-fice Building in Washington,D.C. The award is named inhonor of the late Olin E.Teague, who was a strong ad-vocate for America’s veterans,and is presented each year to

a VA employee for exemplarycontributions to the rehabili-tation of war-injured veter-ans. Cooper is a U.S. Armyveteran and life member ofthe Paralyzed Veterans ofAmerica. His work has af-fected thousands of his fellowveterans. He was a pioneer inwheelchair racing and be-came the first person to builda racing wheelchair thatshared no common partswith a standard one. As adoctoral student, he studiedthe ergonomics of wheelchairpropulsion and began to ex-plore ways to reduce second-ary disabilities resulting fromrepetitive strain injuries. Hiswork elevated the quality ofwheelchair design, increasedunderstanding of secondarydisabilities among wheelchair

users, and improved theavailability of high-qualityproducts and services avail-able to disabled veterans.

Luella Onken, a U.S.Navy veteran, was recognizedon her 90th birthday as themost senior volunteer at theSioux Falls, S.D., VA Medi-cal Center. Sioux Falls CityMayor Dave Munson andSouth Dakota Governor Wil-liam Janklow proclaimed July15 Luella Onken Day inhonor of her birthday andthe 25 years and 30,000hours of service she has pro-vided as a VA volunteer.

The NAACP recognizedAnthony T. Hawkins, staffassistant in the Office ofResolutionManage-ment inVA Cen-tral Of-fice, forhis workwith mi-nority vet-erans pro-grams and for fostering andpromoting equal opportunityin VA. Hawkins received the2002 Benjamin L. HooksDistinguished Service Awardfrom Kweisi Mfume,NAACP president and CEO,on July 9 during the 93rd An-nual NAACP National Con-vention in Houston. Theaward is named in honor ofBenjamin L. Hooks, thesixth NAACP executive di-rector, who served in the92nd Infantry Division dur-ing World War II and sawcombat in Italy.

Albany, N.Y.-basedVISN 2 received the VeteransHealth Administration’shighest quality award, theKenneth W. Kizer QualityRecognition Grant Award. It

is the second time VISN 2has received the award sinceits inception in 1998. Ac-cording to Dr. Lawrence H.Flesh, acting network direc-tor, the award is a tribute tothe more than 5,000 employ-ees in VISN 2, which in-cludes VA medical centers inBuffalo, Batavia, Albany,Bath, Canandaigua andSyracuse. The award, basedon the prestigious MalcolmBaldrige National QualityAward criteria and open toeach of VA’s 21 networks, in-cludes a $300,000 grant ear-marked to fund initiativesthat improve the quality ofcare provided to veterans.VISN 2, along with anothertwo-time Kizer Award recipi-ent, VISN 20, headquarteredin Portland, Ore., have pre-viously made it to the “Con-sensus” stage in the Baldrigeaward program, the stage atwhich organizers decidewhether to conduct a sitevisit.

The Nurses Organiza-tion of Veterans Affairs(NOVA) Foundation willpresent their G.V. SonnyMontgomery Award to FayeG. Abdellah, Ed.D., R.N.,the first nurse to hold therank of Rear Admiral and thetitle of Deputy Surgeon Gen-eral for the United States, onOct. 24 in recognition of herservice to VA nursing.Abdellah was instrumental inthe joint venture between VAand the Department of De-fense that resulted in the in-novative Distance LearningProgram, which usesvideoconferencing and othertechnologies to prepare ad-vanced practice nurses. TheNOVA Foundation is a non-profit organization support-ing improvements in carethrough nursing research andscholarships.

John R. Feussner, M.D., retired on Aug. 16 after 28 yearsof service to VA. Feussner, who had served as VA’s ChiefResearch and Development Officer since 1996, has be-come chairman of the Department of Medicine at theMedical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

During his time in Washington, D.C., Feussner led thedevelopment of the Quality Enhancement Research Initia-tive, a nationally recognized program that is helping trans-late research results into practice. Under his guidance,VA established the federal government’s first independent,external accreditation program for human research, en-suring that veterans who volunteer for VA clinical re-search studies receive the greatest possible protection.Feussner was the first recipient of the Mark WolcottAward “for exceptional service in providing outstandingclinical care to our nation’s veterans.”

Longtime VA Research chief retires

Dr. John Feussner,flanked by SecretaryAnthony Principi andDeputy Secretary Dr.Leo S. Mackay Jr., washonored at a retirementceremony on CapitolHill.

Cooper

Hawkins

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VAnguardheroes

32 September/October 2002

Fishing at AngosturaReservoir near Hot Springs,S.D., nearly turned tragic fora veteran treated recently atthe VA Black Hills HealthCare System when he fellonto some rocks in an iso-lated area and fractured hisright leg. He tried for nearlynine hours to flag downboats for assistance. It wasn’tuntil evening that he was no-ticed and rescued by GregSchumacher, social work as-sociate in Mental Health Ser-vices at the Hot Springs VAMedical Center, who wasfishing in his own boat.Schumacher recognized theveteran’s pickup truck in theparking lot and sensed some-thing was wrong becausethere was no sign of theowner. He told his family,who were fishing with him,“If he was OK, he’d be outhere fishing.” Schumacherbrought his boat in close toshore. He spotted the veteranand realized he was introuble. With the help of hisfamily, he brought the manto Urgent Care at the HotSprings VAMC, where hewas treated.

Before his discharge thisspring, staff frequently spot-ted one partially paralyzedveteran cruising the tunnelsof the Knoxville, Iowa, VAMedical Center. After beingreadmitted without his elec-tric wheelchair, though, helay virtually immobile forweeks. That is until DickReed, a Vietnam veteran andfood service worker at the fa-cility, stopped to talk whiledelivering supper trays oneday. The vet explained thathis electric wheelchair wasleft at his home in Colona,Ill., 200 miles from theKnoxville facility. Afterspeaking with his doctor,Reed told the veteran that he

would personally retrieve iton his next day off. Thoughother kitchen staff offered tocontribute gas money or anair-conditioned truck, Reedwould accept no help. On asweltering day, he and hisyoung daughter made the400-mile round trip journeyand brought the electricwheelchair back to thethankful vet. Co-workerNancy Mecham describes hisaction as “Dick Reed in anutshell—always there forthe veterans and his fellowemployees.”

Trintis Glenn neverthought he’d use the CPRtraining he learned at theBeaumont, Texas, VA Out-patient Clinic. But two daysafter taking the class, he usedhis new skills to save the lifeof his friend’s 6-month-olddaughter. “I didn’t think. Ijust moved. In my mind, Iran through everything thatneeded to be done, and I fol-lowed the procedures that Ihad learned during the class,”said Glenn, a security guardat the clinic. A piece of cerealhad gotten caught in theinfant’s throat and shecouldn’t breathe. Glennquickly cleared the baby’s air-way and she resumed normalbreathing. “I hope everyonewill take the time to learnCPR. It could mean the dif-ference between life anddeath for someone you careabout,” said Brenda Wyer,R.N., who teaches the CPRclasses. Wyer volunteered tobecome a CPR instructorand took it upon herself todevelop classes for clinic staff.

It was a simple re-quest—a veteran with lungcancer at the Tampa VAHospital wanted to pass onto his children the PurpleHeart he had received during

World War II. The troublewas, he had lost the medaland was told it would taketwo years for him to get anew one. With his cancer,the veteran was afraid hewouldn’t last that long.When student volunteerPhilip Nodhturft III heardthe story, he decided therehad to be a way to help. Heasked Christine Feeser, Vol-untary Service chief, if therewas anything he could do tohelp get the medal sooner.She suggested he speak withEdward Sitton, a VoluntaryService representative withthe Military Order of thePurple Heart. Together, theyverified the veteran was in-jured on Christmas Eve 1944in a German mortar attackand obtained a replacementmedal. The medal was pre-sented on Aug. 7, NationalPurple Heart Day, during aformal ceremony at theTampa VA Hospital.

A 20-year-old Augusta,Ga., man was pulled fromThurmond Lake on July 4after being submerged under-water for nearly five minutes.Passersby saw the man gounder and swam out to res-cue him. Gerry Hydrick, aregistered nurse at the Au-gusta VA Medical Center,was in the area and rushedover to administer CPR untilthe airlift medical unit ar-rived. The man recoveredand was released from thehospital six days later.

On Aug. 12, NorthFlorida/South Georgia Vet-erans Health System policeofficers Milt Gordon, JohnZirkelbach, Mark Huntonand William Kiefer weredriving to a firearms trainingsession when they cameupon a vehicle accident. Asevere electrical storm with

heavy rain was pounding thearea and visibility was ex-tremely low. The officers im-mediately called for local lawenforcement and medical as-sistance. When they discov-ered one of the drivers wasseriously injured, they re-routed a heavy volume oftraffic away from the acci-dent scene and treated theinjured driver.

While attending churchservices, a fellow churchgoerasked Rebecca Duncan,R.N., a nurse from the Cen-tral Arkansas VeteransHealthcare System, if shecould accompany him intothe foyer. As they walked, heexplained that he was havingchest pains and had a historyof cardiac bypass surgerywith grafts. Duncan knewright away the situation wasserious. She asked if he hadhis medication and helpedadminister the proper dosage.She summoned an ambu-lance and the man was trans-ported to a local hospital forfurther testing and treatment.He was discharged four dayslater.

Police Officer CurtisMyers had just started histour of duty at the G.V.(Sonny) Montgomery VAMedical Center in Jackson,Miss., when he heard a“Code 99” announcement.Myers quickly responded andfound a wheelchair-boundveteran in the canteen whowas choking and turningblue. With the help of a pa-tient, he lifted the strugglingveteran from his chair andperformed the Heimlich ma-neuver. The maneuver forceda piece of food from theman’s airway and he beganbreathing again. He wastaken to the emergencyroom, treated and released.


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