VAnguard

March/April 2005 1

outlook

Meet the New SecretaryThe Disappearing WWI Veterans

Battle of the Bulge 60th Anniversary

A Facelift for the ‘Tomb’

March/April 2005

Meet the New SecretaryThe Disappearing WWI Veterans

Battle of the Bulge 60th Anniversary

A Facelift for the ‘Tomb’

VAnguard

2 March/April 2005

Features

A Mission of Hope 6Hines VA hospital chaplain brings tsunami relief to his native landThe Disappearing WW I Veterans 8meet the man who tells the stories they can’tBattle of the Bulge 60th Anniversary 11VA doctor shares her account of observances in EuropeMeet the New Secretary 16Jim Nicholson sits down with VAnguard for a wide-ranging interviewLucky to be Alive 22Salisbury, N.C., VAMC nursing assistant injured in IraqA Facelift for the Tomb of the Unknowns 24VA partners with the Army to replace 73-year-old monument

Departments

3 Letters4 Management Matters5 Outlook26 Around Headquarters28 Introducing29 Medical Advances30 Have You Heard31 Honors and Awards32 Heroes

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VAnguardVA’s Employee MagazineMarch/April 2005Vol. LI, No. 2

Printed on 50% recycled paper

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

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs810 Vermont Ave., N.W.Washington, D.C. 20420(202) 273-5746E-mail: vanguard@va.govwww.va.gov/opa/feature/vanguard/index.htm

On the coverArmy veteran Jim Nicholson was sworn inas Secretary of Veterans Affairs on Feb. 1.The Iowa native and West Point graduatepreviously served as U. S. ambassador tothe Vatican. He is also a past chairman ofthe Republican National Commitee, andhas been a land developer and a lawyer.photo by Robert Turtil

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letters

We Want to Hear from YouHave a comment on something you’ve seen inVAnguard? We invite reader feedback. Sendyour comments to vanguard@va.gov. You canalso write to us at: VAnguard, Office of PublicAffairs (80D), Department of Veterans Affairs,810 Vermont Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.,20420, or fax your letter to (202) 273-6702.Include your name, title and VA facility. Wewon’t be able to publish every letter, but we’lluse representative ones. We may need to edityour letter for length or clarity.

Giving Back andFeeling HonoredMy nursing career started in1987 at a large teaching hos-pital on a surgical floor inDetroit. I stayed on the floorfor three years, gaining expe-rience, feeling good abouttaking care of, doing for, andteaching my patients on adaily basis.

My next career movewas to the operating room of

the same hospital. Nursingwas definitely different there.My position entailed devel-oping a plan of care and thencoordinating and deliveringcare to patients undergoingoperative or other invasiveprocedures. Each patient isviewed as a unique indi-vidual, and the plan of care isprovided to meet eachpatient’s specific needs. Icontinued working in the

operating room for the next14 years, loving and enjoyingmy career choice.

Then in 2001 I feltchange was needed. I choseto leave the private sectorand move to my new posi-tion in the Detroit VA Medi-cal Center’s operating room.My career will end rightacross the street from whereit began.

The feelings of pride,honor and country runstrong among our patients aswell as me. I never served inthe armed forces but I feelhonored to be serving theveterans who have allowedme and my loved ones to restour heads while our veteranswatched over us. No amountof money can compare with

the inner feelings of honor,pride and gratitude that I feelevery day taking care of vet-erans.

My heart is filled withbliss and honor as I talk withthem and listen to the storiesthey share with me—some ofpride, others of sorrow—be-fore we go into the operatingroom. I explain to them thattheir watch is over and nowit’s my turn to watch andtake care of them as they didfor us. I do this freely andwith much pride. I thankGod daily for the opportu-nity to serve our veterans. VAnursing is great!

Dolores GarbaczRegistered Nurse

Detroit VAMC

Good WorkI am recently employed as aHuman Resources specialistat the Dayton, Ohio, VAMedical Center and havebeen reading your magazinesince that time. I wish tocommend you and your staffon the excellent diversity ofsubject matter and profes-sional writing. Keep up thegood work.

Gerald FieldsHR Specialist

Dayton VAMC

Secretary Jim Nicholson greets the family of Army Spec. LoriPiestewa at a sunrise ceremony honoring her in Phoenix on March23. The ceremony, held at the base of the mountain named forPiestewa, marked the second anniversary of the ambush of a con-voy in Iraq in which she was killed and former Army Pfc. JessicaLynch was taken prisoner. Lynch is in the background. Piestewa isbelieved to be the first Native American woman killed while fight-ing for the U.S. military. For more on VA’s new Secretary, turn topage 16.

Honoring a Fallen SoldierLEE HYEOMA

VAnguardmanagement matters

4 March/April 2005

Making it Easier to Do the Right ThingEllen FoxDirector, National Center for Ethics in Health Care

The IntegratedEthics initiative marries two areas inwhich VHA is a recognized leader: health care qualityand health care ethics.

Every day in VHA facilitiesacross the country, patients,their families, and the healthcare professionals who servethem encounter challengingethical concerns. We knowthat VHA practitioners arecommitted to providing thehighest quality of care fortheir patients, and they viewethics as an essential aspect ofquality care.

We also know that theyneed and want new tools andresources to help them ad-dress the ethical challengesthey face each day. “Inte-gratedEthics,” a new nationaleducation initiative from theNational Center for Ethics inHealth Care, is designed toprovide those tools and re-sources.

The IntegratedEthicsinitiative marries two areas inwhich VHA is a recognizedleader: health care qualityand health care ethics. Thegoal is to help facilities movebeyond traditional ethicscommittees—which in someways are becoming obso-lete—to develop “next gen-eration” ethics programs thatinfuse awareness of healthcare ethics throughout theorganization at every level.

It is now widely under-stood that the quality ofhealth care delivery dependsnot only on the performanceof individuals, but also onthe design and performanceof the systems in which thoseindividuals work. To achievehigh quality health care, sys-tems must be designed to fa-cilitate and encourage excel-lent individual performance.

The same is true for per-

formance in health care eth-ics. Excellence is notachieved just by bringing to-gether virtuous individuals,but through an effective eth-ics program that aims to con-tinuously improve ethicalhealth care practices.

To be effective at pro-moting ethical health carepractices, an ethics programmust not only respond toethical concerns on a case-by-case basis, but also mustaddress ethical issues on asystems level, and foster anenvironment that is condu-cive to ethical practice. Thus

an IntegratedEthics programintegrates three core func-tions:■ Ethics consultation – re-sponding to ethical concernsin health care.■ Preventive ethics – ad-dressing ethical issues on asystems level.■ Ethical leadership – creat-ing a positive health care eth-ics environment.

The first core functionof IntegratedEthics is ethicsconsultation, which is widelyrecognized as an essentialpart of health care delivery.For example, the Joint Com-mission on Accreditation ofHealthcare Organizations re-quires hospitals to have inplace a mechanism for han-dling ethical concerns.

Today, every VHA facil-

ity has an ethics consultationservice. However, there isgreat variability across VHAin terms of the knowledge,skills and processes broughtto bear in performing ethicsconsultation. Inte-gratedEthics provides facili-ties with a step-by-step ap-proach to ensuring that eth-ics consultation is of highquality.

Preventive ethics is thesecond core function ofIntegratedEthics. Situationsthat give rise to ethical con-cerns can often be avoided byidentifying and addressing

underlying systems problems.IntegratedEthics’ preventiveethics approach guides facili-ties through a process thatapplies principles of continu-ous quality improvement toidentify systems problemsthat give rise to ethical con-cerns, to develop strategies toaddress those problems, andto assess how well those strat-egies work.

Finally, the third corefunction is ethical leadership.Leaders play an essential rolein fostering an overall envi-ronment and culture thatsupports ethical practice. Theethical leadership componentof IntegratedEthics describespractical steps leaders cantake to improve their facility’shealth care ethics environ-ment. Specifically, it focuses

on four critical skills, or“compass points:” demon-strating that ethics is a prior-ity, communicating clear ex-pectations for ethical behav-ior, practicing ethical deci-sion-making, and supportingthe facility’s local health careethics program.

A primary goal of theIntegratedEthics initiative isto improve ethical health carepractices across VHA. To ac-complish this, the initiativeprovides a variety of toolsand resources for facilities touse, or modify to meet theirlocal needs. Every facility

participating in the initiativedevelops their own “Inte-gratedEthics program,” andchooses just how they willcarry out the three core func-tions in their unique setting.

The IntegratedEthicsinitiative will officiallylaunch in July with a demon-stration group made up of 29facilities. The National Cen-ter for Ethics in Health Carewill support these facilitiesthrough workshops, distancelearning materials, evaluationtools, an online community,and ongoing technical sup-port.

The center plans toevaluate and modify the pro-gram materials before mak-ing IntegratedEthics availableto all VHA facilities nextyear.

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outlook

Caring for Wounded OIF/OEF VeteransJonathan B. Perlin, M.D.Acting Under Secretary for Health

Modern body armor and medical care have enabledcombat veterans to survive severe traumatic injuriesthat formerly would have been fatal.

With our nation at war, thesingle most important chal-lenge facing the VeteransHealth Administration todayis ensuring that service-members and veterans whohave been wounded in Op-eration Iraqi Freedom andOperation Enduring Free-dom (OIF/OEF) receive thebest health care available any-where. VHA has no highercalling, no greater mission,than this.

In carrying out that mis-sion, however, we must al-ways remember that true caregoes beyond technically suffi-cient health services. Itmeans providing care withcompassion and dignity toveterans and their families,coordinating every possibleservice and support activitythey need, and restoringthem to their rightful placein our society.

That is an imposingchallenge. Modern body ar-mor and medical care haveenabled combat veterans tosurvive severe traumatic inju-ries that formerly wouldhave been fatal. As a result,we in VHA must help veter-ans face physical and emo-tional challenges that are newto us as well as them.

Fortunately, we havefour VA medical centers thatare showing the way for us tomeet that challenge. VHAemployees in Minneapolis,Palo Alto, Richmond andTampa—where we have spe-cial polytrauma programs—are pioneering new ap-proaches to treatment thatwill ensure we can deliveroutstanding, state-of-the-art

care to severely wounded vet-erans and their familiesthroughout our system.

In the near future,wounded OIF/OEF veteransand their families will begreeted on admission to eachof these facilities by a facilityemployee who will provide afull welcome package, in-cluding orientation materialon the hospital and the sur-rounding area, as well as cou-pons or other vouchers forgoods, services and inciden-tals. And this will be only thebeginning of service aimed atmeeting every need of theveteran and the family.

Soon after these new pa-tients are admitted, facilitydirectors and other top hos-pital staff will introducethemselves, as will ChaplainService, Voluntary Service

and Readjustment Counsel-ing Service employees.

Perhaps most impor-tantly, however, each of thesefacilities will assign case man-agers from our Social WorkService to every service-member and veteran in ourcare. They will meet with ourpatients and their families onthe day they are admitted toexplain our plan for theircare and to answer any ques-tions they may have.

They will offer patientsand their families a singlecontact telephone number,

where they can get immedi-ate answers to their questions24 hours a day, seven days aweek. And they will arrangefor routine family meetings,at which the patient’s statusand progress will be re-viewed, any changes to ourtreatment plan will be dis-cussed, and questions will beanswered.

Each of our medicalcenters will coordinate careacross traditional disciplinarylines, with the patient’s mostimportant clinical need de-termining which service takesthe lead and coordinates allservices involved in thepatient’s care.

Finally, at each of thesefacilities, employees willwork together to considerwhat patients and their fami-lies may need while patients

are hospitalized. This will in-clude, at a minimum, mak-ing sure that families havetransportation, meals, andsafe and convenient lodging.

For example, VoluntaryService will work with localveterans service organizations

to identify local residentswho would proudly housefamilies of combat-injuredpatients, and to identify ho-tels, restaurants, grocerystores, car services, movietheaters and other businesseswilling to donate services tothis most worthy group oftheir fellow citizens.

Many of these new pro-cedures are already in place atsome or all of our poly-trauma centers. Soon, theywill all be in place and opera-tional. And one day, in thenot too distant future, wewill provide this level of ser-vice to every veteran it isVHA’s privilege to serve.

Abraham Lincoln, in hisgreat wisdom, not onlycharged our nation with car-ing for those who have bornethe battle, he charged it with

caring for the families aswell. It is our duty to upholdLincoln’s pledge not only toveterans, but also to theirloved ones. And we will doso in a manner that wouldmake him—and all Ameri-cans—proud.

VA’s four existing traumatic brain injury centers havebeen expanded to treat patients for multiple complex in-juries. These four polytrauma centers are in Minneapo-lis, Palo Alto, Richmond and Tampa.

Fast Fact

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6 March/April 2005

felt moved to contribute to thecause and gave me a check for ahundred dollars to go to the cause. Iknew that he could ill afford to givethis money, but he insisted. He istruly an example of a generous soul.”

When Father Ben and his grouparrived in India, they were immedi-ately struck by the intensity of the

Providing emotional supportand guidance to veterans whohave experienced great loss or

tragedy is part of a VA chaplain’s jobdescription. Visiting the victims ofthe tsunami disaster and offeringthem this same kind of assistance intheir time of need was the experi-ence of a lifetime for Father Ben-jamin Chinnappan, a chaplain atthe Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospitalin suburban Chicago.

“Father Ben,” as he is called byHines staff and patients, was bornand raised in southern India, an areahit hard by the tsunami disaster.When he heard about the disasteron Dec. 26, he immediately spranginto action, organizing a humanitar-ian relief mission to remote villagesin India affected by the tragedy.

“I had a hard time sleeping oreating when I heard about what was

going on in India,” he said. “Over2,000 people were killed in the dio-cese where I used to work. I knew Ihad to go there in person and offermy support to the people.”

Father Ben spent long hoursgathering supplies and organizingvolunteers to assist him on his tripto India. He planned to leave a littleover three weeks after the tsunamistruck and aimed most of his effortsat supporting the people with medi-cines, comfort and counseling, andother critical supplies. As word ofhis mission spread, a number ofHines employees donated money tohis cause. He was particularly im-pressed with the generosity of a localveteran.

“I spoke about the tsunami atMass one day and later a veteran ap-proached me in the canteen,” FatherBen recalled. “He told me that he

VA chaplain brings much-needed assistance to remote villages inhis native India hit hard by the tsunami disaster.

Ben Chinnappan and his group distributedmedicine and supplies to displaced familiesin India (top).

COURTESY OF BEN CHINNAPPANA Mission of HopeA Mission of Hope

JERRY MALONEY

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loss there. “The magnitude of thisdisaster really is beyond description,”he said. “Hundreds of people are liv-ing in refugee camps with two fami-lies crammed into every tent. Thepeople are so traumatized by thetragedy that many of the fishermenare unable to even go near theocean.”

Father Ben and his group trav-eled to several extremely remote vil-lages that had so far not been recipi-ents of much international aid. Thegroup distributed donated medicine,cooking supplies, food and other es-sential items to people in need.Most importantly,however, Father Benand his volunteersstressed to the peoplethey visited that theywere not alone in theirgrief and loss.

“There is nogreater contributionthan being there inperson to share in thepain that these peoplehave endured,” hesaid. “We spent longhours listening to thechildren tell us whathappened to them thatday and what has hap-pened to them sincethe tragedy. Just listen-ing to them is an affir-mation of their losses.”

In addition to distributing medi-cine and essential supplies to hun-dreds of displaced families in the re-gion, Father Ben and his groupmade a special effort to reach out tothe children who were affected bythe tsunami. They purchased schoolbags, school uniforms and BeanieBabies for hundreds of children andgathered the kids together to givethem a forum to talk about theirlosses and feelings about the tragedy.

“One little boy told us how heand his mother had to run for theirlives when the tsunami hit,” Father

Ben said. “They were forced to leavetheir elderly grandmother behindand she was badly injured. The boywas deeply traumatized by the wholething and wanted to tell us all aboutit. When we heard these kinds ofstories, we were speechless.”

Although he was deeply af-fected by seeing firsthand the devas-tating effects of the tsunami, FatherBen noticed a number of positivethings in India. “As a result of thistragedy, people of all religions, eco-nomic backgrounds and ways of lifehave come together. It was amazingto see how the tragedy has brought

these groups together in a way thatI’ve never seen before.”

In addition, Father Ben was im-pressed with the priorities of thepeople who lost their homes, liveli-hood and friends in the disaster.“They didn’t complain about lackingbasic needs like bathroom facilities,running water or food. All theywanted was a little assistance gettingback to work so they can supportthemselves with dignity.”

Father Ben has a history ofreaching out to the people in hishomeland. In 2000 he established

an organization called Dalit Solidar-ity, aimed at supporting the childrenin the lower castes in India. He es-tablished an orphanage for thesechildren where they can receive aneducation and financial assistance.His organization also sponsors yearlytrips to the area by nurse practitio-ners to conduct first aid classes forremote villages far from hospitalsand clinics.

Through his organization, Fa-ther Ben is still raising money forthe victims of the tsunami and plansanother trip to India in September.His main goal is to come up with

enough money to helpfishermen in the areabuy fishing boats andnets so they can getback to work.

Since his return tothe United States andhis job at Hines, Fa-ther Ben has been be-sieged with requestsfrom fellow VA em-ployees, patients andthe community toshare his experiences.He has a remarkablecollection of photosand many fascinatingstories to tell about theplaces he visited andthe people he met.

“The people wemet were touched that

we came all the way from theUnited States to bring messages ofhope and caring,” he said. “In re-turn, we were inspired by their dig-nity, determination and faith in thefuture. It was a very rewarding butpainful experience.”

By Maureen Dyman

The aid workers led by Chinnappan made a special effort to reach out tochildren. Here, he holds a backpack full of toys as a boy makes his choice.

Editor’s Note: To find out more aboutFather Ben’s mission or to donate to hiscause, go to www.dalitsolidarity.org orwrite to: Dalit Solidarity Inc., P.O. Box112, Hines, IL 60141.

COURTESY OF BEN CHINNAPPAN

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8 March/April 2005

Just when things were windingdown for Bob Johnson, a groupof 90-something veterans turnedhis life around. Johnson’s “second

life” began in 1990 at his Air Forceretirement ceremony capping a 21-year career.

Johnson invited his longtimeneighbor, Jack, to the ceremony.Jack was a World War I veteran, butJohnson really didn’t know muchabout his service. It was a subjectthat just never came up.

A couple of weeks after thatceremony, Jack invited Johnson to aquarterly district meeting of Veter-ans of WWI of the USA. Johnsondidn’t even realize that World War Iveterans had their own organization.But he went, and was amazed atwhat he found.

“There were 10 to 15 men at-tending at that time and they wereall in their mid-90s,” Johnson re-called. “They were struggling tokeep the minutes of the meeting anddo the bookwork, and asked if Iwould like to help. How could I sayno?”

That was the beginning. Soonthe group made him an honorarymember, and it was only a matter oftime before Johnson had a new vol-untary career.

“I realized these were our mostsenior veterans in need of help andassistance. That started me on amission to help them in whateverway I could,” Johnson explained.

He went to many of the Califor-nia World War I veterans’ annualconventions, but by the mid-1990sthe number of active members haddiminished significantly. As a result,the conventions ended becausethere were not enough of the oldguys left and those who were leftwere too frail to travel. By 1996, hisneighbor Jack ended up being the“last man standing” of his barracks(a term used by WWI veteransgroups in the same way that “post”or “chapter” is used by more recentgroups) before he died at age 100.

Highest Honors from FranceJohnson learned the French

government wanted to award theLegion of Honor medal, their high-est honor, to American World War Iveterans who served in France.Knowing that there must be moreWorld War I veterans out there,Johnson went to the French Consu-late in Los Angeles and offered tohelp them find as many as he couldin California.

On Nov. 11, 1998 (the 80th an-

niversary of the World War I Armi-stice), the French government,through their consulates, startedawarding the medals. Approximately25 were awarded around the countryon that day.

The activity received a lot ofpublicity, prompting people to callthe consulates asking about theirown grandfathers, fathers or uncleswho had also served in World War I.By this time, the consulate in LosAngeles knew Johnson well enoughthat they would call him when anew inquiry came in.

His role was to visit the family,assist them with the applicationforms for the medal, and help coor-dinate a ceremony. Since 1998, withJohnson’s tireless assistance, theFrench government has awarded 55of these medals to California veter-ans.

It was during that first busy yearof award presentations that Johnsonbegan working with the Los AngelesVA Regional Office of Public Affairsin coordinating media releases forthe ceremonies. Word of Johnson’sgood work spread and he beganhelping the French consulate in SanFrancisco, as well. He traveled backand forth helping to locate WorldWar I veterans and arrange medal

Meet the man who tells the stories they can’t.

The DisappearingWWI Veterans

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presentation ceremonies. There wasno pay or reimbursement.

“It’s a labor of love,” he ex-plained. “No one was doing this andI had the flexibility and time to doit. We needed to find them and givethem their deserved recognition.” Itbecame his passion.

Remarkable StoriesHaving spent so much time

with these veterans and being a partof their lives, Johnson is a valuableconduit in keeping the stories ofthese brave men alive. He’s learneda lot from these “living histories.”

Many of the stories make inter-esting historical footnotes. Onecombat veteran, Lucius Perkins,

who died at age 105, told Johnsonsuch a story. Perkins worked in com-munications in the Army. He wason a break from his duties one daywhen an Army captain came by andasked if he was familiar with com-munications. When Perkins said yes,the captain told him he needed acommunications man in his outfit.Perkins ended up moving over tosupport the captain’s outfit (an artil-lery unit) and got a promotion outof it. The captain turned out to beHarry S. Truman.

Another veteran Johnson foundwas still living in the log cabin hebuilt in the 1930s near Sacramento.He also found that many veteranshad lied about their age to get into

the war.“It was pretty common,”

Johnson said. “I ran into many vet-erans who were actually underagewhen they went into the Army.[The war] was looked at as an oppor-tunity. Their spirit of patriotism wasextraordinary.”

Johnson became very close to aCanadian veteran named CliffordHolliday who lived nearby.

“He enlisted when he was just16 as a bugle boy but ended up inthe battle trenches in France beforehe turned 17,” explained Johnson.“This was in 1914 before the U.S.got involved in the war. The trenchwar early on was horrible, with mil-lions of soldiers killed on each side.

Bob Johnson with the Guinness-certified “world’s oldest man” and World War I veteran Emiliano Mercado del Toro, 113, wearing his 75thAnniversary Commemorative Medal in Puerto Rico last November.

COURTESY OF BOB JOHNSON

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10 March/April 2005

Clifford served in the trenches foralmost two years in some very diffi-cult times. He was wounded twice.In one particular engagement, hisbattalion strength started at 1,200 asthey tried to take a hill. Only 300came back.”

Holliday, who had become akind of surrogate grandfather toJohnson, passed away about a yearago at the age of 105.

“It was fascinating to talk withsomeone who had seen so much inthe development of this country,”recalled Johnson. “Through Clifford,I learned a lot. It made me morecompassionate realizing what thesepeople went through and the diffi-cult times they had compared towhat we have today.”

The most recent addition toJohnson’s repertoire of good deedsfor World War I veterans happenedearlier this year. News from PuertoRico about a 113-year-old veteranreached Johnson through family

On Jan. 17, Guinness certifiedEmiliano Mercado del Toro as theworld’s oldest man and announced itto the world. Johnson went back toPuerto Rico to present the certifi-cate on Jan. 28 with much media at-tention.

“It was probably the highlightof my life,” said Johnson, “to be ableto personally present a Guinnessworld record certificate to the oldestdocumented living man and to havebeen involved in getting him certi-fied. The family was very grateful.”

Dwindling NumbersIt’s hard to know exactly how

many World War I veterans are left,but Johnson estimates there areabout 30. The numbers are dwin-dling so fast that in another twoyears, there may be none.

Unfortunately, not everyoneknows the sacrifices these menmade, and Johnson dedicated muchof his life to bringing their stories tothe public. Asked what he’s going todo once all the World War I veter-ans are gone, Johnson didn’t miss abeat.

“I am beginning to get in-volved with World War II veterans,”he said with a laugh. “I just started aproject over the last six to eightmonths to identify any World WarII veterans who received the Medalof Honor for heroism in France andwere not nominated to receive theFrench Legion of Honor. I found sixso far and most are already in pro-cess.”

Had it not been for his oldneighbor Jack opening his eyes, heprobably would never have gotteninvolved with these veterans.

“It really was a bit of fate,”Johnson said. “It was an extraordi-nary opportunity to share their livesand it’s a very important legacy wecan’t let our younger generationsforget.”

members living there. He knew hehad to go there and meet the vet-eran, Emiliano Mercado del Toro, inperson.

“I was trying to find him andwas having trouble. A few days be-fore I was scheduled to go back toCalifornia, we found him. I called,visited him and his family.” Johnsoncan’t help smiling as he recalls themeeting. “It was pretty amazing tomeet someone that old—the oldestliving man—and veteran.”

Within three days back in L.A.,Johnson was in touch with theGuinness Book of World Recordsand started the application processfor Mercado del Toro. It took a se-ries of documents to prove he waswho he said he was—Guinness has arigorous standard for accurate verifi-cation. One of the documents was aletter from VA verifying his birthdate. The process took two months,with Johnson working as liaison be-tween the family and Guinness.

Veterans groups joined VA and local officials at a ceremony honoring Emiliano Mercadodel Toro of Puerto Rico as the nation’s oldest veteran this past January in Vega Baja,where he lives with a niece. Here, Mayor Edgar Santana presents him with a key to thecity. Though nearly blind due to cataracts, Mercado del Toro immediately recognized thevoice of VA nurse Rosa Arroyo, who cared for him almost 20 years ago. “He was a funnyand talkative patient,” she recalled.

FELIX RODRIGUEZ

By Susan Fishbein

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The immense firs towered over-head, their crowns obscured byfog. In the late afternoon,

golden shafts of light “like lancespierced the mist,” in the words ofthe old Civil War song. Thesewoods, though, were not the tallpines of Georgia battlefields, or theoaks and maples of Tennessee; theywere the dark evergreen forest of theArdennes, a region in eastern Bel-gium and Luxembourg of smalltowns, tiny villages, hills and deepgorges.

Standing in the dark under thegiants, we could see a depression inthe ground. Then another. And an-other and another. Sixty years of for-est duff had softened the contoursbut could not obscure the purpose ofthese lesions in the forest floor. The

cold was damp and penetrating aswe stood there shivering. How toimagine the thoughts of a 19-year-old American soldier as he dug adesperate shelter against the cold ofthat terrible winter and the deadlyshower of shrapnel and splinteredtimber that fell under assault fromGerman 88s?

For the last 12 years I’ve been adoctor at the William JenningsBryan Dorn VA Medical Center inColumbia, S.C., where time andagain I’ve had the opportunity tolearn history as it was lived by themen and women of the armed forcesof this country.

I’m also the daughter of a WorldWar II aviator. My father was a pilotand squadron commander with the448th Bomb Group, flying out of

England with the Eighth Air Force.On June 20, 1944, his B-24 wasbrought down by flak. He survivedand was interned at Stalag Luft III,the camp made famous by the movie“The Great Escape.” As Air Forcebrats in the 1950s and 60s, mybrothers and sister and I enjoyed theexcitement of many moves, and theexperience of living in Great Britain16 years after Dad crossed the NorthSea on his last wartime mission.

A Journey of Remembranceand Recognition

Many of the old soldiers in myclinic fought in the great conflictknown as the Battle of the Bulge,which Europeans call the Battle ofthe Ardennes. Along the Germanfrontier the Ardennes extends from

Ardennes Forest near St. Vith, Belgium.

‘I’ll not forget you ... Never.Never. Never.’

Battle of the Bulge 60th Anniversary

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12 March/April 2005

the area around Elsenborn in thenorth in Belgium southward toEchternach near Luxembourg City.In December 1944 this line wasthinly guarded by Allied forces, as itwas not suspected that Hitler’sarmies would attempt an advancehere. But the territory of theArdennes is well known to studentsof history as a pathway for invadingarmies: in 1914 Kaiser Wilhelm’stroops pushed their way throughhere, as did Erwin Rommel in 1940.

At 5:30 on the gray, foggymorning of Dec. 16, 1944, the as-sembled German armies began shell-ing Allied positions along theArdennes front. Sixty years latercitizens of towns such as St. Vith,Bullingen, Houffalize, Vianden,Beaufort and Echternach, all brutal-ized by those armies, gathered togreet the cold dawn with remem-brance.

This Night Vigil is now held ev-ery year, but the observance of 2004was special. According to the Website of the Association des Museesde la Bataille des Ardennes(AMBA), the first commemorationsof the Battle of the Bulge began in1984 when veterans began to returnto the Ardennes in large numbers tosee the battlegrounds of their youth.In 2004, AMBA recognized that“this may well be the last occasionfor a meaningful large-scale event inthe presence of veterans and wit-nesses of the ‘Bulge.’”

In December, members of theorganization Veterans of the Battleof the Bulge (VBOB) embarked ona journey of remembrance and rec-ognition back to the hills and val-leys that had been so bloodily dis-puted 60 years ago. I had the privi-lege of joining them.

On Dec. 16, those old veteranswho were able tumbled out of warmbeds at the hotel Ol Fosse d’Outh inHouffalize, Belgium, our headquar-ters for most of the trip, climbedinto a big blue bus provided by the

Belgian Air Force, and were drivento the village of Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, near the famous town ofBastogne. My journal reads: “4:30a.m. – We’re loading the bus withold soldiers to ride to Bastogne tostand in the cold on this starry nightto remember that morning so longago.”

As they arrived, the veteranswere greeted by citizens young andold, uniformed Belgian soldiers, re-enactors in World War II battlegear, and a phalanx of cameras andreporters. A heavily bundled womanstanding next to me tried to takenotes during the speeches, but herpen froze up. I handed her a pencil.

Top: Reenactors and U.S. veterans of the Battle of the Bulge share a moment near Wiltz,Luxembourg. Above: A veteran salutes his flag during remembrance ceremonies inClervaux, Luxembourg.

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“Merci,” she said, and scribbledaway.

Photographers held their cam-eras high as dignitaries gavespeeches and the veterans laidwreaths before a monument to theinfantry divisions that had fought inthat area. The stillness of the earlymorning was shattered by a 21-gunsalute; the sharp smell of gunpowderdrifted down through the frigid air.

After the ceremonies, the localcitizens invited the Americans tothe village hall for refreshments, butsomehow no one remembered toprovide directions to our Portuguesedriver. So our huge bus spent thenext 30 minutes wandering alongtiny roads in the dark, trundlingthrough pastures and farmyardsalong the way. Our hosts waited pa-tiently, keeping the coffee and crois-sants warm, assured that the Yankswould find their way as they had 60years before.

The anniversary of the Germanattack was remembered in Luxem-bourg City at the Hamm Cemeterylater in the day. The ground hadbeen liberated in 1944 by the U.S.5th Armored Division, and was es-tablished as a military cemetery bythe American Battle MonumentsCommission that same year. TheGrand Ducal government of Luxem-bourg grants the use of the propertywithout charge. Most of the 5,076American dead interred there losttheir lives in the Ardennes, in thefighting east of the Rhine, or in theskies above.

After the speeches, the nationalanthem, and a 21-gun cannonade, Iwalked through the graves with aveteran of the 7th Corps Artillery.During the war he had been a155mm howitzer gunner. When hecame home he became a teacher.Together we crunched across thehoarfrost and stood before severalcrosses bearing the words: “Hererests in honored glory a comrade inarms known but to God.” Then we

ascended the rise to a single cross setabove and slightly apart from therest. The inscription read: “GeorgeS. Patton.”

In December 1944 the ThirdArmy, commanded by Gen. GeorgePatton, was preparing to advanceeast against the enemy in the Saar.Initially, the U.S. high commandwas not convinced of the magnitudeof the German aggression along theArdennes front to the north. But byDec. 19 the Supreme Allied Com-mander, Gen. Dwight D.Eisenhower, finally recognized thethreat and met with his senior offic-ers. Eisenhower asked Patton howsoon he could swing his troopsaround and drive to Bastogne.Patton confidently replied, “As soonas you’re through with me.” Threedays later Patton launched his at-

statue, a copy of his monument atWest Point, stands on a high bluffoverlooking the city. There the gen-eral grips his field glasses in bothhands, preparing to scan the defilefor enemy movements. In Bastogne,Patton’s stern face in bas-reliefguards a memorial park on theArlon road near the edge of town.In Luxembourg City, a plaque marksPatton’s headquarters; in Arlon astone has been placed in honor of“Le General Patton.”

And scattered around the coun-tryside are memorials to Americandivisions too numerous to count.

‘Nuts Day’Long before World War II, the

city of Bastogne celebrated “NutsDay” as a fair for unemployed farm-hands and servants to find work for

A Sherman tank rolls into Bastogne during Nuts Day celebrations.

tack, freeing town after town as hisdivisions pushed north.

In Belgium and Luxembourg,George Patton has become a secularsaint. In the town of Ettelbruck,which was liberated by the ThirdArmy on Christmas Day, there is amuseum dedicated to him. His

the coming year. Successful youngmen would celebrate by purchasingexpensive treats such as walnuts,which they would offer to youngwomen as a demonstration of theirfinancial stability. Now this traditionis celebrated annually by the ceremo-nial throwing of little bags of walnuts

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from the balcony of city hall. In acurious confluence of events, thestory of the Screaming Eagles, the101st Airborne Division, has for 60years been associated with “nuts” ina different context.

On Dec. 18, “Nuts Day,” theVBOB tour buses pulled up to thePatton Memorial Park. Veterans andtheir families spilled out onto thesnowy streets to meeta parade of Americansoldiers and sailorscarrying flags of the 50states, followed by par-tisans and veteranBelgian soldiers ofWorld War II. TheU.S. troops marchedthe flags into the parkand stood in the ach-ing cold while morespeeches were offered.Afterwards a mob oftownspeople,reenactors, veteransand the young Ameri-cans made forMcAuliffe Square inthe center of town.

One of my pa-tients, a veteran of the101st Airborne whohad fought on the pe-rimeter of Bastogne inthe village ofLongchamps, long agogave me a copy ofGen. AnthonyMcAuliffe’s Christmasletter to his troops. Inhis note, the generaltold his soldiers of theultimatum sent by the Germans to“the U.S.A. commander of the en-circled town of Bastogne,” demand-ing his “honorable surrender,” with-out which the German artillery wasprepared “to annihilate the U.S.A.troops in and near Bastogne.”McAuliffe’s tart response is legend:“To the German Commander:NUTS! The American Com-

mander.” The besieged city did notfall.

On this Nuts Day 60 years laterthe town threw a party for its libera-tors. After the parade and speechesin town, the veterans were drivenaround the outskirts of Bastogne andshown U.S. Army Headquarters andthe site of the much-needed 1944drop of ammunition and supplies.

Then they were taken to theMardasson Memorial outside oftown.

This 40-foot tall star-shapedmonument, bearing the names ofthe 48 states and the names andsymbols of the U.S. divisions thatfought in Belgium and Luxembourg,was inaugurated five years after thewar as a symbol of the gratitude of

the people of Belgium. The veteranswere escorted onto the grounds for aceremony attended by Belgium’sKing Albert II, J. Dennis Hastert,the speaker of the U.S. House ofRepresentatives, Marine Corps Gen.James Jones, Belgian Prime MinisterGuy Verhofstad, the U.S. Ambassa-dor to Belgium Tom Korologos, andother dignitaries.

After the cer-emony, everyone cameback to town for theparty at city hall. Hun-dreds of citizens wavingBelgian and Americanflags lined the streetsoutside, braving fallingtemperatures, snow andwind. Upstairs, wecould watch throughthe windows asBastogne dramatizedthe encirclement withflashing lights and re-enactors dressed asGerman and Americansoldiers driving tanks,military trucks andJeeps up and down themain street. Pushingtheir way through thecrowd, waiters carriedaround trays of foodand champagne. Evenpackages of walnutswere passed out in theold tradition. The kinghimself honored theveterans with a medal.

A Hero’s WelcomeIt was astonishing

to see the feelings the people of Bel-gium and Luxembourg expressed to-wards the old warriors. Many veter-ans flew from Washington to Bel-gium free of charge on a BelgianArmy Air Bus. Everywhere theywent they were besieged for storiesand autographs. Newspapers andtelevision covered every ceremony.

Throughout their tour they

The Belgian 5th Fusiliers march in Bastogne on Nuts Day.

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were accompanied by a BelgianArmy medic, a non-commissionedofficer, and two representatives ofthe Belgian Embassy in Washington.Belgian soldiers loaded and un-loaded their bags, ferrying themback and forth on military trucks.Highway traffic was pushed aside byBelgian police on motorcycles, andon the day of departure for theStates, Belgian Army vehicles flash-ing blue lights cleared a hole for thebuses through rush-hour traffic inBrussels.

Most touching were the chil-dren. After a church service inHouffalize, schoolchildren, “lesenfants,” read speeches they hadprepared: “Monsieur le veteran.Freedom came calling. I am dying.You came from across the sea to suf-fer and die in our Ardennes forests.And you came and saved us.” InBastogne children held signs read-ing, “We thank you for peace, free-dom and democracy you gave usback sixty years ago.” Parents told usthat they teach their children tocare for the graves of the Allied sol-diers who died for their freedom.

A month after the German of-fensive began, and thousands oflives later, the 11th Armored Divi-sion drove into Houffalize, linkingup with the First Army’s 2nd Ar-mored Division, cutting off the Ger-man “bulge.” Two days later theThird Army crossed the Sauer River.Clervaux fell to the Americans onJan. 25. By the end of the month,the German armies had been pushedback and the Allies prepared to in-vade the Fatherland. The war wasnear an end.

‘Ghost Front’Denise Oger, a member of the

Center of Research and Informationon the Battle of the Ardennes,which helps veterans and their fami-lies locate memorials and old battle-fields, spent a day driving me aroundthe area known as the Northern

Shoulder. We visited the town ofMalmedy, the nearby site at theBaugnez Crossroads where the 1stSS Panzer Battalion murdered 86U.S. POWs, and Ligneuville, wherethe SS shot another eight surren-dered Americans. We drove up tothe Schnee Eifel and to the sectorthat had been defended by the un-fortunate 106th Division.

The 106th, the Golden Lions,had been activated at Fort Jackson,S.C., in 1943. Although this divi-sion had been properly trained inthe States, as a newly formed unit itsmembers were subject to reassign-ment to divisions already fighting inEurope. As a result, 60 percent of itsenlisted men were pulled out beforethe 106th shipped out. The losseswere made up with assorted soldiersgathered here and there, and in-cluded men pulled out of collegeswhere they had been sent as mem-bers of the Army Specialized Train-ing Program.

When the 106th relieved the2nd Division in the Ardennes, itsinexperienced men were told theywould be defending a “Ghost Front,”and that no German intrusions wereexpected. But two weeks after theuntried division stepped onto Euro-pean shores, and five days after be-ing deployed along a 21-mile line inthe Schnee Eifel, the Germanarmies attacked.

After three horrific days of des-perate fighting against an over-whelming enemy, the Golden Lionslost 500 men killed, more thantwice that number wounded, and7,000 captured or missing. As wegazed across the Losheim Gap intoGermany, trying to imagine thesight of armies advancing throughthe darkness six decades before, Ithought about the soldiers of the106th and their courageous attemptto defend the undefendable.

Denise was 8 years old duringthe winter of 1944-45. Now, she do-nates her time to driving Americans

around the Ardennes. After theparty with the King of Belgium, Iwalked out of city hall into thesnowy street to watch the parade oftanks pass by.

Denise was waiting, and pre-sented me with a guidebook of“Memory Routes” of the Battle ofthe Bulge. On the frontspiece shewrote some words for my patientsback home, expressing the emotionsof the citizens of the two nations:“To all the veterans who are notable to come to Belgium. Manythanks for our liberation. I’ll not for-get you … Never. Never. Never.”

Story and photos by Lynn HunterHackett, M.D.

At the Hamm Cemetery in Luxembourg City, childrenthank American soldiers for freeing their country fromtyranny.

Editor’s Note: This article was originallypublished in The State newspaper, Colum-bia, S.C.

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New VA Secretary Jim Nicholson promises to maintainthe department’s momentum.

Embracingthe MissionEmbracingthe Mission

MICHAEL L. MOORE

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You often speak about the challenges you and yourfamily faced when you were growing up on a tenantfarm in rural Iowa. How did that experience shapeyou?I think it taught me the value of perseverance. We did,for a number of years, have very difficult conditions. Myfather was a very serious alcoholic and my mother triedto keep the family together. There were seven kids inour family and she always used to say to us during diretimes when we did not have enough to eat, sometimesnothing to eat, “If you kids will just hang in there andstudy hard and work hard and pray hard, you can still dowell in life because that’s America.”

She believed in that very strongly, and we followedher advice and were able to do well. All seven of thekids went to college and several of us have post-graduatedegrees. I think the lesson for me was the importance ofpersevering, and it’s a very personal thing. I also believestrongly in the power of prayer. Just don’t give up. Ifthere’s something you really want, if you have a goal,work at it and if you are inclined, pray for it too and youwill be surprised.

You went on to graduate from West Point and serveeight years on active duty, including combat duty inVietnam, and then 22 years in the Army reserve.How has your military background prepared you foryour new job as head of VA?Well, I think my military background prepared me forthe rest of my life, and certainly for my responsibilitiesas Secretary of the VA. I think the experience at WestPoint has been the most defining of my sets of experi-ences in life. At West Point, they do a lot of amazingthings. They imbue you with a sense of duty to your

Jim Nicholson signed over the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See on Jan. 31 and wassworn in as VA Secretary on Feb. 1. Four days later he found himself rolling outthe President’s $70 billion fiscal year 2006 budget proposal for the department. Somuch for easing into the job. But Jim Nicholson has never looked for the easy

way. His professed beliefs in hard work, faith and the value of public service havemarked his success in military, business, political and diplomatic leadership roles.Now, as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, he is throwing himself into serving America’sveterans with the same discipline and focus that helped him rise from a childhoodscarred by poverty. Secretary Nicholson sat down with VAnguard in his office over-looking the White House on March 11 to talk about his background, his leadershipstyle, and what he hopes to accomplish in his new job.

country, to yourcommunity.They instill adiscipline and asense of organi-zation such thatyou become apretty good timemanager, per-force becauseyou’re kept sobusy there, espe-cially if you’reactive in sports,which I was.Also, you reallyget to be prettygood at focusingyour energy onthe job at hand.And that combination, I think, served me very well inthe Army, in law school, practicing law, in business, inpolitics, and in everything else I’ve done since.

What inspires your pursuit of public service? Wheredoes your drive to serve come from?I think two things. Again, at West Point, the motto is“Duty, Honor, Country” and it’s kind of an intangiblething as you’re going through that four-year experience,but it really does mark you. When you leave that place,you really do feel an obligation of service.

The other component of it is the old Biblical admo-nition, “To whom much is given, much is expected.”While I started out with a hardscrabble life, I’ve had alot of good fortune and good breaks, and I feel like Ineed to give back and help others enjoy some of the op-

Opposite: Nicholson with wife Suzanne and family members at hisformal swearing-in ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 18.

Nicholson as a West Point cadet.

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portunities that I’ve had because of people who havegone before me and set the table for me.

How would you describe your leadership style?I really have never spent very much time analyzing that,but I think my leadership style is one of setting goalsand then organizing to accomplish the mission inherentin those goals. I try to bring good people together andmanage them in a collegial way, soliciting their inputinto decisions, but making the final decisions, and ex-pecting people to be loyal and committed to those deci-sions once made. I delegate everything I can, and thenlet people do their jobs, but let them know they are ac-countable, and finally, I believe in thanking and recog-nizing people when they are working hard and doing agood job. You just can’t thank people who are dedicatedto their jobs enough.

Who has influenced you most as a leader?I’ve had the good fortune to experience several differentpeople in my career who have influenced me. One ofthe earliest was my high school football coach. He had aprofound influence on me. He was an All-Americanfootball player who was drafted in the middle of his col-

lege football career. He went off to World War II andcontracted rheumatic fever and was never able to playfootball again. But he became a coach, and his leader-ship style profoundly affected me, because he was an ab-solute expert at what he did. He knew football cold, andwhile he was demanding, he was also totally supportive.Our football team my senior year was undefeated, and itwas because of his exceptional leadership of a bunch ofragtag kids who became very good because of his leader-ship.

And then I served with several Army officers whowere just wonderful models. Then during my practice oflaw, I had a partner who really helped shape my life. Hetaught me a lot because of his expertise and his sense ofresponsibility to his clients and to his community. Acombination of people like that influenced me greatly.

You most recently served as U.S. ambassador to theVatican. What did you accomplish in that positionthat you’re most proud of?It’s probably for others to decide what I accomplished asthe ambassador for three and a half years. But there’ssomething that I do feel very good about, which is theprogress that I think we made in convincing the Holy

The Secretary makes a point during his interview with VAnguard in his office on March 11.ROBERT TURTIL

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See and the many other countries that are also accred-ited there of what the United States really stands for,what its values are and what its priorities are.

I’ll illustrate. The number one priority of theUnited States as iterated in its statement of national se-curity policy is to enhance human dignity. It’s not to bethe military juggernaut of our time, or the economicjuggernaut, or the technological. It’s to enhance humandignity. The translation of that is that we are interestedin elevating the condition of life for men and womeneverywhere. Our President has taken a leadership role inthese areas, like trafficking of human beings, religiousfreedom, HIV/AIDS, and hunger. We really heightenedthe awareness, sensitivity and involvement on these hu-man dignity issues, leaving the correct impression thatthe United States is very serious about them and they’rea priority. That feels pretty good.

During your Senate confirmation hearing, you admit-ted having limited experience with VA before yournomination. You’ve been on a steep learning curvesince then. What are you doing to learn about VA andyour new job?

I’m doing a lot of things. One of the precipitators ofa very sharp learning curve is the budget and the budgethearings we’ve been going through. They have been dif-

ficult but fortuitous.They’ve caused me tostudy and really concen-trate and learn in a shorttime a great deal about thiswonderful, vast, multi-fac-eted organization calledthe VA because I had tolead our testimony in boththe House and Senate au-thorizing committees andnow in the appropriationsprocess.

Another thing I’m do-ing is getting out there.I’ve been to medical cen-ters, a regional office and acemetery in the five weeksI’ve been here. I’ve spokenat VSO winter meetings,attended their receptions,received the VSO leader-ship and taken them tothe White House to meetthe President. I’ve beengetting briefings here bythe three administrations

and staff offices. So it’s been an intense period of learn-ing but I still have a lot to learn.

Your older brother, Jack, recently left the position ofVA Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs and nowheads the American Battle Monuments Commission.Did he give you any advice or share any experiencesfrom his time at VA that you think will be helpful?We had several good discussions about VA and he re-lated his very positive experiences and warm view of theorganization, the people, and his gratitude for havingserved here. He was particularly expansive about theMemorial Affairs portfolio. His insights were very useful,and his service here was outstanding.

You and your brother are not the only members ofyour family serving the nation. Tell us more aboutthat.Our father was a World War II veteran. My brother andI are both combat veterans of Vietnam. My son is a vet-eran. His son is a colonel on active duty, and we havethree other nephews who are lieutenant colonels, two ofthem in the Army and the other in the Air Force. Sowe have a big tradition of military service in our family.

Can you tell us a bit about what your goals and priori-

During a visit to the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix on March 22, Nicholson presents the Secretary’sVolunteer Service Award to Louise Ellis, recognizing her for 33 years of service.

BRUCE BOWENS

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ties will be as Secretary of Veterans Affairs?First and foremost, I’ll follow the old saying “If it ain’tbroke, don’t fix it.” I think I inherited the leadership ofa wonderful organization doing tremendous things. Wejust had two glowing reports about our Veterans HealthAdministration, the RAND report, and the report fromthe Washington Monthly magazine. There was also justan article from the Toronto newspaper [The Globe andMail] saying the model for fixing the broken Canadianhealth care system should be the American veteranshealth system.

So I think my predecessors have turned this big shipin the right direction and into the 21st century andhave done a wonderful job. I now want to keep it mov-ing forward and improve it. However, one of the mainpriorities that I have is to make the American peoplemore aware of the VA. I’m convinced that they do notknow and thus do not value what a terrific organizationthis is. It is bigger than the United States Marine Corps;its budget is bigger than, I think, 26 states combined. Itis doing wonderful things for over 5 million veteranswho are patients of our health system and is providingbenefits to millions of veterans who are beneficiaries ofour benefits system. We run one of the biggest life insur-

ance companies in America, one of the biggest mort-gage insurance companies, and a very large educationaland research component.

Yet, this is not well known. There is not this gen-eral transcendent awareness of what a great thing wehave here. The American people, because they valueour veterans so highly, have invested largely in thisagency to take care of them. The VA is really doing agood job, but many people do not know that and theydeserve to know.

This year is the 75th anniversary of the VA. Whatbetter time to create a commemorative program tomake people more aware. It’s important on many levels.It’s important for the employees to feel they are betterknown and better appreciated by their fellow Ameri-cans. It’s the dedication that we have to our veteransthat keeps most people here. It’s also important for theAmerican people to know what they’re getting for theirmoney, because they are spending a lot of money onveterans and veterans affairs. And it’s very important forthe veterans to know more about their own VA. I amconvinced that we are very under-known, and thus un-der-valued, and I want to change that because we de-serve to be well-known and well-appreciated.

At his formal swearing-in ceremony, held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce near VA headquarters, the oath of office was administered tothe Secretary by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, right, with Nicholson and wife Suzanne.

ROBERT TURTIL

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Also because when you’re treating 5 million people,dealing with something so important and personal andintimate as their own health, on any given day you’regoing to have something a little bit out of kilter. If allthe American people hear are these incidental, indi-vidual negative occurrences without this larger, big pic-ture positive awareness, then they’re not going to havethe kind of justified appreciation for this agency.

You mentioned that you’ve already visited several VAfield facilities. Do you plan to do a lot of traveling tofacilities?The answer is yes, of course, I’ll be doing a considerableamount of traveling because we have 158 hospitals, 854clinics, 57 regional offices and 120 cemeteries. Andprobably every member of Congress has something intheir district from the VA, and they’re gracious withtheir invitations to come and visit. We also have aCARES process, which is the Capital Asset Realign-ment for Enhanced Services, underway, and I want togo visit the facilities that are in that process, those beingrepositioned, those being proposed for new facilities. It’sjust what you do in a job like this where you have acommand. You go visit your command. You go visit yourhospitals, your regional offices and your cemeteries—your troops in the field.

What, if anything, has surprised you about VA?The biggest surprise to me is just how big this agency isand what huge and divergent responsibilities it has. Re-sponsibilities to provide state-of-the-art medical care tomillions of veterans who deserve it and are eligible andneed it, and to provide benefits and life insurance andmortgages and education and burial benefits. So the re-alization of the scale and multi-faceted part of it, withdisciplines that don’t necessarily relate to each other,but come under the VA canopy, was a surprise.

Some veterans service organizations and members ofCongress have criticized the administration’s fiscalyear 2006 budget proposal for VA as being inad-equate. How would you characterize the President’sproposed budget?It’s a good budget. It’s a record budget. We’ve had in-creases of 47 percent over the last four fiscal years, andthis one levels out more. It’s a pause, if you will, but ithas in there what we need to get the job done. So I feelcomfortable with the budget.

Will the implementation of CARES be affected by thisbudget proposal?Yes, CARES will be affected by this budget because ithas $750 million in it to move CARES forward.

As you know, providing returning servicemembers aseamless transition from military to civilian life is atop priority at VA. How do you plan to keep the de-partment moving forward on that initiative?That is a top priority because it should be. We need tosee that our returning men and women from the activeforce and the reserve and Guard forces are made awareof all the benefits that they’re eligible for, and they needto know how to access them. So we’re working closelywith the Department of Defense through the JointExecutive Council. We have put people out in the fieldat the major military hospitals. We have people at all ofthe major points of return and re-deployment. We’vehad people on aircraft carriers that were returninghome. We have done mailings and given briefings tohundreds of thousands of returnees. The returning mem-bers of the National Guard and reserve are the biggestchallenge because they often come back to CONUSand return immediately to their home communities andtheir civilian jobs. They are entitled to VA health careand other benefits and we want them to know that.

We also now have this new plan to give our return-ees, through the Benefits Delivery at Discharge pro-gram, a physical exam and an evaluation during theirseparation from the active force. We examine them tosee if they have disabilities as a result of their service,and try to adjudicate then and there, from a claimspoint of view. Our goal is to get that done at the timethat they’re going through their separation.

Concerns have been raised recently about possible re-gional disparities in disability compensation awards toveterans. How do you plan to address this issue?That is another priority, and it is being addressedthrough the Inspector General’s office. In fact, I had abriefing today from the Inspector General and a progressreport on that, and it is well underway.

During testimony at your confirmation hearing, youmentioned that you plan to focus much of your atten-tion on the department’s work force. Is there any spe-cial message you’d like to offer VA employees?I would like to thank them for their dedicated service toveterans. I’ve been out and met with doctors and nursesand many other people and I ask, “Why do you work atthe VA, and how are we able to keep you at the VA?”The common denominator in the answer from all ofthose different kinds of people is, “I’m here because weserve veterans.” And I thank them for that and compli-ment them for that. It is noble work that we do here atthe VA and those of us who are healthy and able-bodiedare lucky and privileged to be able to work here for thepeople who keep us free.

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Michael T. Black doesn’t remember much about the roadside attack thatnearly took his life in Iraq. And maybe that’s a good thing. “They tell me it’sbest that I don’t remember,” he said hesitantly.

Lucky to be AliveA Salisbury, N.C., VA Medical Center nursing assistant was injured ina roadside attack during his second tour of duty in Iraq.

and was assigned to the North Caro-lina Army National Guard’s 1454thTransportation Company based inConcord, N.C. His unit was acti-vated in February 2003 to transportmilitary supplies from bases in Ku-wait to the front lines in Iraq.

He spent four months in theater

but was sent home in June 2003 forfamily medical reasons. He was de-activated in September and wentback to work at the VA hospital inOctober. But the Army wasn’t quiteready to let him go. Two monthslater he was reassigned to the1450th Transportation Company,

Michael T. Black, a nursing assistant on the geriatrics unit at the Salisbury, N.C., VA Medical Center, isback at work after recovering from wounds sustained when his convoy was attacked in Iraq. He hasworked at the Salisbury VAMC since 1998.

What he does know he learnedthrough conversations with othersoldiers who were with him on thehighway to Baghdad when insur-gents attacked their convoy. Afterlistening to their accounts, Blackhas reached this conclusion—he’slucky to be alive. “If I hadn’t got out[of the truck] when I did, I’d prob-ably be dead,” he said.

Black, a nursing assistant at theSalisbury, N.C., VA Medical Center,talked about his experiences in Iraqduring a Feb. 25 telephone conver-sation. The impact of the roadsideattack was evident in his voice,which remained somber and reflec-tive as he spoke of his personalstruggle to balance the need toknow what happened with his desireto move on and forget about it.

How do you move past some-thing you can’t remember? “I try notto think about it too much,” he said.“I mean I know I was there, but Idon’t remember much about it. It’salmost like a dream, but it was forreal.”

His journey to Iraq began whenhe joined the National Guard inApril 2001 at the age of 42. It washis second stint in the Army. Hehad previously served on active dutyfrom 1977 to 1980.

Black trained as a truck driver

LUKE W. THOMPSON

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based in nearby Lenoir, N.C., andmobilized for active duty. He was go-ing back to war.

After refresher training at FortStewart, Ga., the unit deployed toCamp Arlington in Kuwait inMarch 2004. Black served as a sup-ply clerk and spent most of his timewithin the relative safety of themilitary compound. Within a couple

of months, however, he got tired ofdesk duty and volunteered to join a30-vehicle convoy heading north toBaghdad.

The convoy left Camp Arling-ton on the morning of May 18,2004. Black was riding shotgun in atruck used to tow disabled vehicles.He wore his Kevlar helmet and bodyarmor, and carried an M16 rifle asthey barreled north on the dustyhighway known as Main SupplyRoute Tampa.

The ride was mostly uneventful.But everything changed when theyleft the highway and enteredBaghdad. A burning vehicle blockedthe road as they exited the off-ramp.The convoy was forced to stop.

Black anxiously gripped hisweapon as the driver pulled to theside of the road. “I knew we had toset the perimeter so I was ready togo,” he said.

As Black opened the door andleapt to the ground, the earthseemed to rise up to meet him. Adeafening explosion rocked thetruck, shattering glass and rippingmetal. His final memory is of stum-bling forward and falling to theground. “Some stuff, well, they tellme I just don’t need to remember,”he said quietly.

He woke up lying in a hospitalbed in Baghdad. A day or two later,he was medically evacuated to Ger-many and then to Walter Reed

Army Medical Center in Washing-ton, D.C. Finally, he was transferredto Fort Gordon, Ga., where he couldbe closer to his family.

Black doesn’t know whether histruck hit a land mine, a roadsidebomb or got hit by a rocket-pro-pelled grenade. Whatever it was, itwas big. Six other soldiers werewounded in the blast. And Black

suffered shrapnel wounds over muchof his body, including his eye.

Five months after the attack, hereturned to his job at the VA hospi-tal, where he has worked since 1998.

“Some stuff, well, they tell me I just don’t needto remember.”

Black stands beside a military vehicle while deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Notethe steel plate welded to the driver’s door. He was wounded after volunteering for a con-voy mission to Baghdad.

“We were so glad to see him againbecause everyone was worried. Weprayed for him and thought abouthim every day,” said Shelia Nance,nurse manager on Black’s unit.

Nance said when Black firstcame back to work, he wasn’t sure ifhe could do his job anymore. Shetold him it was OK, but to give it atry. “Everyone has just been so sup-portive. I think he’s done extremelywell, maybe even surprised himself,”she said.

Black is the fourth VA em-ployee wounded in combat in Iraq.The other three are: Dr. Ken Lee,chief of spinal cord injury at theMilwaukee VAMC, who waswounded in a suicide car bombingin Baghdad in September 2004; Su-san Sonnheim, a nurse from theMilwaukee VAMC, who waswounded by an improvised explosivedevice in Baghdad in September2003; and Dr. Robert Frame, chief of

VHA Dental Service in Washing-ton, D.C., who was wounded in aBaghdad ambush in April 2003.

By Matt Bristol

COURTESY OF MICHAEL BLACK

VAnguardfeature

24 March/April 2005

Last November, VA and the De-partment of the Army signed ajoint agreement to replace the

Tomb of the Unknowns at Arling-ton National Cemetery. The mainpart of the Tomb, crafted from a 55-ton block of solid marble, has stoodadjacent to the Memorial Amphi-theater overlooking Washington,D.C., since 1932.

The 73-year-old monument isbeing replaced because of two largecracks that travel completely aroundthe Tomb.

Because the Tomb of the Un-knowns is considered a governmentheadstone, the Army asked VA—through the National Cemetery Ad-ministration—to acquire an identi-cal replacement. NCA will solicit,award, and fund the contracts tocreate the replacement Tomb, in-cluding procurement of the stone,sculpting the marble, and transport-ing the new Tomb to Arlington.

The original Tomb came fromYule Quarry in Colorado. It was de-signed by Lorimer Rich and sculpted

A Facelift for the Tomb of the UnknownsVA partners with the Army to replace the 73-year-old monument.

by Thomas Hudson Jones.The Tomb consists of seven

pieces of marble—the sub-base(four), base, die and cap. VA will re-place only the base, die and cap.The die is the main part that mostpeople think of as the Tomb; it in-cludes the north and south faceswith wreaths, the west face with thewords “Here rests in honored gloryan American soldier known but toGod,” and the east face with thethree Greek figures representingPeace, Victory, and Valor.

ROBIN COOPER

VAnguard

March/April 2005 25

feature

■ Signing of VA/Department of theArmy Memorandum of Under-standing (November 2004)

■ Digital mapping of existing Tomb(December 2004/January 2005)

■ Solicitation of replacement con-tract to purchase marble (closedFeb. 15, 2005)

■ NCA visits quarries to evaluatebids (late February/early March2005)

■ Awarding of the contract forthree marble blocks (mid-March/early April 2005)

■ Removal and transportation ofthe marble blocks from the quarryto storage facility, if necessary (lateApril 2005)

■ Solicitation of contract to sculptnew Tomb (late March 2005)

■ Awarding of contract to sculptnew Tomb (late April 2005)

■ Transportation of the marbleblock from the quarry or storage fa-cility to sculpting location (lateApril/early May 2005)

■ Sculpting of new Tomb com-pleted (August/September 2006)

■ Transportation to Arlington Na-tional Cemetery (September/Octo-ber 2006)

■ Removal/installation at ArlingtonNational Cemetery (September/Oc-tober 2006)

■ Relocation of old Tomb to theSmithsonian National Museum ofAmerican History (September/Octo-ber 2006)

Tentative Timeline

Since the drawings used to cre-ate the original Tomb were lost, oneof the first steps in the replacementprocess was to create a blueprint ofthe Tomb. The Army turned to Di-rect Dimensions Inc., of Maryland,to capture digital images of theTomb of the Unknowns.

Using the latest technology, Di-rect Dimensions recorded the pre-cise specifications of the Tomb.Rather than using video or photo-graphs to create two-dimensionalimages, laser scanners were used tocreate an exact three-dimensionalmodel. The scanning picked upbarely visible marks and details thatvideo and photographs don’t.

The three-dimensional modelreplaces the original blueprints. Notonly will the information be used in

contracting for the sculpting of theTomb, it will also help with the ac-tual sculpting. The three-dimen-sional model will be loaded intocomputer-assisted milling machinesthat use lasers to do the initialsculpting to within 1 inch of specifi-cations. Then sculptors will com-plete the finished work by hand.

NCA estimates it will take 18months before the replacementTomb is ready for delivery to Arling-ton National Cemetery. The origi-nal Tomb will be donated to theSmithsonian National Museum ofAmerican History.

Opposite: Tomb of the Unknowns at Ar-lington National Cemetery; cracks arevisible running around the die. Above:Employees from Direct Dimensions Inc.perform laser scans of the Tomb. Right:Three-dimensional model of the eastface of the Tomb shows the three Greekfigures Peace, Victory, and Valor, com-memorative of the spirit of the Allies inWorld War I.

ROBIN COOPER

DIRECT DIMENSIONS INC.

By Michael Nacincik

VAnguardaround headquarters

26 March/April 2005

On May 30 at 3 p.m. localtime, Major League Baseballgames will stop, Amtrak trainwhistles will blast across thenation and hundreds of othernationwide participants willask Americans to pause forthe Memorial Day NationalMoment of Remembrance.Established by an act ofCongress, the “Moment”honors those who died inservice to the nation.

Other participants in-clude veterans service organi-

VA Joins in Uniting Americans in Remembrance of Memorial Day

Flanked by senior VA leader-ship in headquarters on Feb.7, Secretary Jim Nicholsonannounced the Bushadministration’s request for arecord $70.8 billion budgetfor fiscal year 2006.

The FY 2006 budgetproposal calls for $33.4 bil-lion in discretionary funding,mostly for health care, and$37.4 billion in mandatoryfunding, mostly for compen-sation, pension and otherbenefit programs. While it’sthe leanest VA budget in re-cent years, with an overall in-crease of less than 3 percent,Secretary Nicholson pointedto record increases of 47 per-cent over the previous fouryears.

“This budget proposalguarantees that the depart-ment will be able to care forthose veterans who count onus the most,” said the Secre-tary.

Among the highlights:■ Continuation of the prior-ity to work closely with theDepartment of Defense toprovide timely, high-qualityservices to servicemembers

returning from Iraq and Af-ghanistan.■ VA will be able to care formore than 5.2 million pa-tients in FY 2006.■ $750 million for the Capi-tal Asset Realignment for En-hanced Services, or CARES,program. Includes funding

for 28 new outpatient clin-ics, design work for newmedical facilities in Biloxi,Miss., and Fayetteville, Ark.,and five major constructionprojects in Las Vegas, Cleve-land, Pittsburgh, Gainesville,Fla., and Anchorage, Alaska.■ Continuation of the larg-

White House Seeks $70.8 Billion Budget for VA in FY 2006

est expansion of the nationalcemetery system since theCivil War, with funds for sixnew national cemeteries.

For complete details onthe FY 2006 budget pro-posal, click on “Hot Topics”on the VA Web site atwww.va.gov.

zations, NASCAR, militaryinstallations, schools and uni-versities, hospitals, shoppingmalls, national parks andairports.

All citizens, alone orwith family and friends,wherever they may be at 3p.m., are asked to pause for amoment of reflection and re-dedication to giving some-thing back to their countryin memory of the nation’sfallen. The goal is to put“Memorial” back into Me-

morial Day. A Gallup poll re-vealed that only 28 percentof Americans know themeaning of this holiday.

“We want Americans tocontemplate those thingsthat bind us together. Wewant every child to say, ‘Iknow why I am free and Iknow who died for my free-dom,’” said CarmellaLaSpada, director of theWhite House Commissionon Remembrance.

“The legacy of those

who died to keep this coun-try free—from the Revolu-tionary War to the present—is something that strengthensand unites us.”

Congress passed a law in2000 establishing The WhiteHouse Commission on Re-membrance. Its purpose is topromote the Moment andthe values of Memorial Dayby acts of remembrancethroughout the year. VA ispartnering with the commis-sion in this cause.

Secretary Jim Nicholson announces the administration’s FY 2006 budget proposal for VA at a newsconference in headquarters on Feb. 7.

ROBERT TURTIL

VAnguard

March/April 2005 27

around headquarters

It’s that time again! TheThrift Savings Plan (TSP)open season begins April 15and ends June 30. TSP is aretirement savings and in-vestment plan for federal em-ployees. Participation in TSPoffers you the opportunity tosave for retirement and deferincome taxes on these sav-ings.

During the TSP openseason, eligible employeesmay elect to enroll, change,or terminate their contribu-tions. This open season,FERS employees may elect tocontribute up to 15 percentand CSRS employees up to10 percent of their basic payeach pay period. The 2005Internal Revenue Serviceelective deferral limit is$14,000.

If you are, or will be, age50 or older during the 2005calendar year and you are al-ready contributing the maxi-mum amount in regular TSPcontributions, you may beeligible to make additionalcatch-up contributions of up

Thrift Savings Plan Open Season Runs April 15-June 30

Effective July 1, 2005, the Federal Retirement Thrift In-vestment Board will implement Public Law 108-469,which eliminates the TSP open seasons and the restric-tions on contribution elections tied to them.

As of that date, participants may make TSP contri-bution elections at any time. Your local Human Re-sources office will be providing additional information inthe coming months.

To find out more about the TSP program, contactyour local HR office or visit the Office of Human Re-sources Management and Labor Relations Worklife andBenefits Service’s Web site at vaww1.va.gov/ohrm/Ben-efits/Benefits.htm and the TSP Web site at www.tsp.gov.

TSP Special Notice

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman LarryCraig (R-Idado) came to headquarters on Feb. 9 to visitwith VA employees. The senator, who was named chair-man of the committee in January, said he wanted to gettheir input on improving care and benefits for veterans,and on how the committee and Congress can better as-sist VA in serving veterans. Sen. Craig spent a few hoursin the building, and took time to field questions fromemployees in the Omar Bradley conference room in theSecretary’s office suite, above.

to $4,000 in 2005. You cansign up for catch-up contri-butions at any time, but youmust make a new electioneach calendar year.

Employees are encour-aged to make open seasonelections through EmployeeExpress at www.employeeexpress.gov.

As a TSP participant,you can invest in any one ora combination of the follow-ing five investment funds:■ G Fund (Government Se-curities Investment Fund)■ F Fund (Fixed Income In-dex Investment Fund)■ C Fund (Common StockIndex Investment Fund)■ I Fund (InternationalStock Index InvestmentFund)■ S Fund (Small Capitaliza-tion Stock Index InvestmentFund)

Open season is a goodtime to review your invest-ment choices and rebalanceyour account to match yourretirement savings goals. Youcan rebalance by making

interfund transfers, contribu-tion allocations, or a combi-nation of the two. You maymake your contribution allo-cations or interfund transferat any time using:■ The TSP Web site (www.tsp.gov); or

■ The Thriftline: 1-TSP-YOU-FIRST (1-877-968-3778), or TDD 1-TSP-THRIFT5 (1-877-847-4385) for hearing impairedparticipants; or■ Form TSP-50, InvestmentAllocation.

The American Veteran is a new half-hour video news maga-zine designed to inform veterans, their families and theircommunities about the services and benefits they haveearned through their service to America and to recognizeand honor that service. This program is produced by theVA Office of Public Affairs and the VA Learning Univer-sity/Employee Education System video production team.It is being broadcast by the Pentagon Channel, a 24/7 op-eration that reaches all U.S. armed forces personnel and iscarried by many domestic cable outlets. The American Vet-eran also is being streamed on the VA Web site, andbroadcast internally on the VA Knowledge Network.

The American Veteran Debuts

A Visit from the ChairmanROBERT TURTIL

VAnguardintroducing

28 March/April 2005

We hear a lot about seamlesstransition efforts these days.VA employees across thecountry have embraced theconcept by developingunique ways to serve ournewest generation of combatveterans.

Their enthusiasm is jus-tified. Could there be a mis-sion nobler than healing thebroken bodies of young menand women who suffer dev-astating injuries in service tocountry?

But the war-woundedaren’t the only ones affectedby their injuries. Spouses,parents and children mustlearn to cope with the realitythat their loved one maynever be the same. Nowhereis this more evident than in-side VA’s four traumaticbrain injury centers, locatedin Tampa, Richmond, PaloAlto and Minneapolis.

Carolyn M. Clark, pub-lic affairs officer at the JamesA. Haley VA Hospital inTampa, got a firsthand feelfor the impact of brain inju-ries when the hospital re-ceived its first Iraqi Freedompatient in April 2003—a spe-cial ops soldier who had beenshot in the back of the head.

He arrived on a Fridayevening accompanied by thewife of a friend with whomhe was serving in Iraq. Priorto his deployment he haddesignated her as his healthcare surrogate in case any-thing happened to him.

Clark met them at thehospital to help with the ad-mission. She then drove theyoung woman to a nearbyHoliday Inn, because at thattime the hospital had no for-mal system to house familymembers or surrogates. Be-fore leaving, she gave the

woman her business card andtold her to call if she everneeded anything.

A few weeks later shecalled. She had gone home totake care of a few things butwas now planning a returntrip to Tampa. She wanted toknow if Clark could recom-mend a good hotel close tothe hospital. “If you want,you can stay with me,” Clarkanswered.

So began one woman’sefforts to touch the lives ofpatients’ families and lovedones. “I saw a need, and inmy own small way, I wantedto help,” explained Clark.

As the war ground on,her home became their ref-uge. She let families stay withher on five separate occa-sions, including letting onecouple stay in her housewhile she was out of town.One night, she whipped up ahome-cooked meal of bakedchicken, steamed vegetablesand pumpkin pie for three

we’re here to help.”Later, when Ziegler

heard VAnguard was lookingfor “exceptional acts of kind-ness” by VA employees, hesent an e-mail message de-scribing Clark’s efforts.“Carolyn … never boasts orcalls attention to herself,” hewrote. “But I think actionslike these deserve more thana pat on the back. These ac-tions make me proud to bean American.” We thinkmany would agree.By Matt Bristol

Carolyn Clark

young women with lovedones on the brain injuryunit.

“They had gone throughso much and I just wanted todo something to show themthey’re not alone,” Clarksaid.

She often went beyondthe basics of food and shelter.When she found out one pa-tient had received a weekendpass, she met him and hiswife at the hospital, drovethem to the FloridaAquarium and paid their wayfor a dolphin eco-tour. Latershe picked them up andtreated them to dinner atOutback Steakhouse.

Patient advocate KeithW. Ziegler heard aboutClark’s efforts while speakingwith a patient’s wife. “I askedwhere she was staying andshe said ‘at Carolyn’s,’”Ziegler recalled. “I said tomyself, ‘That’s what we’rehere for.’ We’re not a facelessbureaucracy—we care and

Tampa VA Hospital public affairs officer Carolyn Clark (center) with Jeanette Blackmon (left) andDiana Herrick, whose husbands are being treated at the hospital after suffering combat wounds. Clarkopened her home to the families of wounded servicemembers at the start of the war in Iraq.

Editor’s note: Construction ona new Fisher House at theTampa VA Hospital is sched-uled to be completed next year.Until then, a coalition of vol-unteers has formed the “HaleyHouse” at a local hotel, offer-ing free rooms and breakfast,unlimited shuttle service, andcomplimentary local phonecalls for the families of veteranson the spinal cord and braininjury units.

ARTHUR L. NELSON

VAnguard

March/April 2005 29

medical advances

VA scientists and researchersnationwide celebrate VA Re-search Week March 27–April2. In this installment ofMedical Advances, VAnguardtakes a closer look at VA’sOffice of Research and De-velopment (R&D).

R&D StructureThe R&D office overseesfour distinct services, eachwith its own world-renownedresearch centers.

The Biomedical Labora-tory Research and Develop-ment Service explores basicbiological or physiologicalprinciples in humans or ani-mals, such as investigationsof tissues, blood or other bio-logic specimens. This is anew service, created througha reorganization of theformer Medical Research Ser-vice, led by director Dr. TimO’Leary.

The Clinical Science Re-search and Development Ser-vice focuses on interventionaland effectiveness studies,clinical, epidemiological andtechnological studies. This isalso a new service createdthrough reorganization of theformer Medical Research Ser-vice and Cooperative StudiesProgram. Dr. Brian Schusterwas recently appointed ser-vice director.

The Health Services Re-search and Development Ser-vice pursues research at theinterface of health care sys-tems, patients and healthcare outcomes. This serviceunderscores all aspects of VAhealth care, specifically qual-ity, access, patient outcomesand health care costs. Its mis-sion is to advance knowledgeand promote innovationsthat improve the health andcare of veterans and the na-tion.

Finally, the Rehabilita-tion Research and Develop-

ment (Rehab R&D) Servicefocuses on improving thequality of life of impairedand disabled veteransthrough the full spectrum ofresearch, from approved re-habilitation research projectsthrough evaluation and tech-nology transfer to final clini-cal application.

Emerging ResearchTopicsThe war in Iraq has drawnattention to prosthetics re-search. About 180 soldierswho lost limbs in Iraq havebeen treated at Walter ReedArmy Medical Center, ac-cording to a Nov. 18, 2004,Associated Press report. As aresult, VA has made prosthet-ics research a priority in thedepartment’s 2005 researchagenda.

VA partnered with theDepartment of Defense andWalter Reed to study ways toimprove the care of returningamputees. Investigators haveproposed studies that will:compare prosthetic designs,define standards of function,evaluate psychological issuesfaced by returning servicepersonnel, determine psycho-social issues that challengesuccessful reintegration, andinitiate longitudinal studiesto be carried out as the in-jured soldiers transition fromactive duty to VA care.

Recent VA ResearchAdvancesThe following studies repre-sent VA research findingspublished in January 2005.For more on VA research ef-forts, visit the R&D service’sWeb site at www.va.gov/resdev.

Colon Cancer ScreeningMethod “Worthless:” A testcommonly used by doctorsto screen for colon cancer has

proved “worthless,” accord-ing to VA researcher and gas-troenterologist DavidLieberman, M.D., who led astudy involving 2,665 veter-ans at 13 VA medical centers.

The study tested the va-lidity of the digital fecal oc-cult blood test (FOBT), inwhich doctors obtain a singlesample of stool as part of arectal exam and check it forhidden traces of blood,

search, more attention is be-ing focused on how primary-care physicians screen forcolorectal cancer. This studywas published in the Jan. 18issue of Annals of InternalMedicine.

Fiber-Rich Diet Wards OffHeartburn: Eating more fi-ber and less fat may meanless heartburn, according to aVA study of 371 volunteers

which could signal the pres-ence of cancer or precancer-ous polyps. In addition tothis test, the study volunteerscompleted a more rigoroussix-sample FOBT, providingstool samples from home.They also received a fullcolonoscopy, the gold stan-dard for diagnosing colonproblems.

The colonoscopies re-vealed that 284 men had se-rious polyps. The single-sample FOBT detected only5 percent of them, versus 24percent for the six-sampleFOBT.

As a result of the re-

in Houston. Those with dietshigher in fiber and lower infat were less likely to sufferchronic heartburn and regur-gitation of food, or gastroe-sophageal reflux disease(GERD).

Although fiber has longbeen lauded for its role inheart and colon health, thestudy was among the first tosuggest that fiber may offerfurther digestive benefits.The VA study was one of themost comprehensive analysesyet of how diet affectsGERD. The findings appearin the January 2005 issue ofthe journal Gut.

Dr. Stephan Fihn is the acting chief of VA’s Office of Research and Development.The R&D office oversees four distinct services.

ROBERT TURTIL

VAnguardhave you heard

30 March/April 2005

Seattle’s spiritual experience

The Association of VASocial Workers partneredwith the Veterans of ForeignWars to provide telephonecards to approximately 850VA employees called to activeduty as members of theArmy Reserve or NationalGuard. The association’s ex-ecutive committee came upwith the idea and contactedVFW’s Operation Uplink,which provided the callingcards. The cards were mailedjust in time for the holidays.In January, the associationdonated $3,000 to VFW toshow its appreciation.

Some special childrengot a special valentine sur-prise when nearly 30 em-ployees from the Chillicothe,Ohio, VA Medical Center

and their family membersgot Valentine’s Day haircutsfor Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that pro-vides hairpieces to needychildren under the age of 18who suffer from medical hairloss. Engineering Service’sTom Osborne organized theevent. “I’ve wanted to do thisfor a long time, and I wantedto challenge other VA em-ployees to get involved,” hesaid.

Talk about attitude!There’s plenty of it and it’s allpositive at the VA EasternKansas Health Care System,where employees proclaimed“Yes I Can” throughout themonth of February in con-junction with the NationalSalute to Hospitalized Veter-

ans. They wore buttons em-blazoned with the phrase“Yes I Can” to make it clearto all veterans and their fam-ily members that VA employ-ees care about their needsand are here to help.

A group of employees atthe Newark VA Regional Of-fice is making blankets intheir spare time and givingthem to area veterans as partof a project called Blankets ofLove. Angela Marie Casey, aveterans service representa-tive, started the project inOctober 2004 as a way tothank veterans for their ser-vice. Since then, she and hercolleagues have crocheted 94blankets. On Dec. 20, theygave 37 blankets to homelessveterans living in six transi-tional homes run by the VA

New Jersey Health Care Sys-tem. The next day, they do-nated another 55 blankets toveterans living at the MenloPark Veterans NursingHome.

The first two veteransever treated at the Lebanon,Pa., VA Medical Center re-turned to the hospital Feb.15 to cut the ceremonial rib-bon opening five completelyrenovated inpatient units.The multimillion-dollarrenovation was the first ma-jor facelift since the hospitalopened in 1947. Among theupgrades are wider hallwaysand larger patient rooms thatoffer more privacy. About100 employees, volunteers,veterans and local and stategovernment representativesattended the event.

Chaplains at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System inSeattle have introduced a spiritual labyrinth for patientsand employees to explore the healing power of movingmeditation. Walking the portable canvas labyrinth is saidto promote spirituality, introspection and emotional health,according to chaplain Chris Morton. Currently, mentalhealth providers are using the labyrinth to help patientswith grief, trauma and addiction.

Fran Rickers, a member of the Veterans of ForeignWars Auxiliary and volunteer at the Fargo, N.D., VAMedical Cen-ter since 1977,received thePresident’sVolunteer Ser-vice Award onFeb. 3 fromPresidentGeorge W.Bush. Rickersgreeted thePresident,right, at HectorInternationalAirport as AirForce One tax-ied to a halt. “Iwant to thankyou for settingsuch a goodexample,” Bush told Rickers before addressing the restof the crowd.

Presidential kudos for volunteer

From left: VA Puget Sound Health Care System’s chief of Chap-lain Service Fred Rietema walks the labyrinth with chaplainsSteve Spencer, Tom Park and Chris Morton.

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO

JOSEPH MATTHEWS

VAnguard honors and awards

March/April 2005 31

Honored for excellence

Members of the Memo-rial Services Detachmentfrom the Fort Sam HoustonNational Cemetery in SanAntonio, Texas, were guestsof honor at the FreedomsFoundation at Valley Forgeannual awards dinner onNov. 4, 2004. The detach-ment is made up of volun-teers who provide militaryfuneral honors for veterans.They have provided morethan 16,000 burial honorssince forming in 1991. TheFreedoms Foundation is anonprofit organization head-quartered in Valley Forge,Pa., dedicated to teachingyoung people the principlesupon which America wasfounded.

Two nurses from theSan Francisco VA Medical

selected to receive the VAVoluntary Service’s James H.Parke Memorial Fund YouthScholarship Award. Kelly is adedicated volunteer who haslogged 1,017 volunteer hoursover the past six years. Hergrandfather, ChesterOlszewski, is a longtime vol-unteer at the facility. “Volun-teering has been an incred-ibly influential part of mylife and has helped me togrow and become a strong,confident, well-rounded per-son,” said Kelly.

The Disabled AmericanVeterans presented the Orderof the Silver Rose award toDr. Patrick Litle, a psycholo-gist at the VA outpatientclinics in Ventnor andVineland, N.J., both part ofthe Wilmington, Del., VAMedical Center. The Orderof the Silver Rose is an orga-nization established to recog-nize American service-

Center made the cover ofNurseWeek magazine. Martha“Marti” Buffum, associatechief nurse for research, ap-peared on the cover of theJan. 31 issue of the nationalmagazine in a tribute tonurse researchers. Her re-search focuses on betterhealth outcomes for patients.Past studies include achievingand maintaining sobriety,managing pain in patientswith dementia, and staffwellness and stress reduction.Registered nurse MimiHaberfeld made the cover ofthe Jan. 17 Mountain Westedition. She collaborates withBuffum on the VA NursingOutcomes Database.

Jennifer Kelly, a volun-teer at the Edward Hines Jr.VA Hospital in Chicago, was

Stan Johnson, directorof the Tomah, Wis., VAMedical Center—cur-rently serving as actingdirector of the JesseBrown VA MedicalCenter in Chicago—received the AmericanHospital Association’sFederal Health Care Ex-ecutive Award for Ex-cellence during theAmerican College ofHealthcare ExecutivesCongress, held March14-17 in Chicago.Johnson has served as

director of the Tomah VAMC for 10 years. He was recog-nized for leading the medical center through a major reor-ganization. “I’m fortunate to work with an incredible groupof people. This is recognition for [Network 12 and Tomahstaff]. You can have ideas, but if you don’t have thepeople, it doesn’t get done,” he told the Tomah Journal.

members exposed to AgentOrange in a combat zone.Litle is the first VA employeeto receive the award. He wasrecognized for making a dif-ference in the lives of veter-ans. The award is generallypresented to military person-nel who have been exposedto Agent Orange.

The VA Southern Ne-vada Healthcare System re-cently received two of theNevada Governor’s Awardsfor Performance Excellence.The judging was done by theNevada Quality Alliance, us-ing criteria based on theMalcolm Baldrige NationalQuality Award. The healthsystem received the Trail-blazer Award for achievingnotable performance results,as well as the Nevada Awardfor Community Support forbuilding and maintaining re-lationships with communityorganizations.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, along with Indianapolis Colts de-fensive end Shawn King, presented the Florida AfricanAmerican EducationAlliance 2004 Commu-nity Leader of the YearAward to Tia Jefferson,right, a computer in-structor at the NorthFlorida/South GeorgiaVeterans Health Sys-tem in Lake City, Fla.She received theaward Jan. 17 in rec-ognition of her commit-ment to education inher community. Agraduate of FloridaA&M University,Jefferson has tutored children for the last 15 years andwas cited as an exceptional mentor.

Stan Johnson, left, with JerryMolnar, associate director of theTomah VAMC, who nominatedJohnson for the award.

Committed to education

LAURA BISHOP

DAVE GOULD

VAnguardheroes

32 March/April 2005

A real-life medical emergency

An emergency preparedness drill turned into a real-lifedrama recently at the James H. Quillen VA Medical Cen-ter in Mountain Home, Tenn. During the drill, Lisa Fair,above left, an emergency room nurse at the medicalcenter, realized that Ann Pope, above right, the Volun-tary Service volunteer playing a victim, really did needimmediate medical attention—her blood pressure waselevated to 259/133. Pope was stabilized by the medicalcenter’s emergency room triage staff and later admittedto a private hospital for treatment.

A speedy and brave response

Mike Hiatt, below, a health technician at the KansasCity, Mo., VA Medical Center, placed the safety of pa-tients and co-workers above his own recently by fight-ing a fire that had engulfed a patient’s bed. A cigarettehidden under linen by the patient was to blame for theflames. Hiatt grabbedthe burning bed sheetcovering the patientand extinguished thefire. Both patients inthe room were on oxy-gen, but only the onewho had hidden thecigarette sustained aninjury (non life-threat-ening). Hiatt also suf-fered minor injuries,but called his actions“no big deal.” Hiattwas assisted that nightby Betty Clemons, R.N.,Teresa Adams, R.N., Donna James, health technician,and Sandy Leonard, R.N., all of whom reacted withspeed and courage.

Michael Santillo, a po-lice officer at the Northport,N.Y., VA Medical Center, re-cently received a letter ofcommendation from theFBI’s Joint Terrorism TaskForce for bravely subduing adrunken and unruly passen-ger intent on assaulting aSouthwest Airlines flightcrew during a flight. Santilloand an off-duty N.Y.C. po-lice officer subdued the pas-senger until the plane landedand law enforcement au-thorities escorted him away.

Several staff memberswere eating lunch together ina break area at the WestPalm Beach, Fla., VA Medi-cal Center when one mem-ber of the group suddenlygrabbed his throat, giving the

universal sign for choking.Remaining calm, CarolineFermin, a medical supplytechnician, administered theHeimlich Maneuver, whichdislodged the piece of applethat was stuck in her co-worker’s throat.

Charles Parnell was re-cently honored for what be-came a caregiver role-reversalat the Durham, N.C., VAMedical Center. Parnell, along-term resident of the ex-tended care and rehabilita-tion center, was seated in thedoorway of his room whenhe saw an evening tour staffnurse collapse into uncon-sciousness on the floor. Rec-ognizing the emergency situ-ation, Parnell yelled for helpuntil nursing staff arrived. At

the ceremony, which was at-tended by his daughters,Parnell was praised by staffas a hero whose actions savedtheir co-worker’s life.

The Atlanta VA MedicalCenter police recently re-ceived a report that a possi-bly suicidal patient was sit-ting high up on the ledge ofthe facility’s parking deck.Officers were immediatelydispatched to the garage,where they discovered thetroubled veteran, whoseemed intent on jumping.VA Police Chief JeffreyGarrett talked at length withthe patient, trying to per-suade her to voluntarilycome down from her danger-ous perch. Yet she persistedin leaning forward, threaten-ing to jump. In an instant,

Garrett gave the signal to Of-ficer Jerry Wellons and Sgt.Elbert James, who rushed tograb the patient, pulling herto safety.

Two dietary aide work-ers from the American LakeVA Medical Center inTacoma, Wash., recentlyteamed up to save the life ofa veteran. During a morningmeal, alert 20-year employeeLouise Ackerman becameaware that a patient waschoking, unable to speak,breathe or swallow. She im-mediately called for assis-tance and was joined by co-worker Stephan Jancasz, whoassessed the situation and im-mediately performed theHeimlich Maneuver, dislodg-ing the obstruction from thepatient’s throat.

JUDY FOWLER-ARGO

JIM SPAW