Military Officer - July 2006 - (Page 26) rapidfire Spotlight Retiree Attention! Check out these military-related entertainment offerings. BOOK American Shogun: General MacArthur, Emperor Hirohito, and the Drama of Modern Japan (Overlook Press, 2006): Robert Harvey delivers a narrative history of the political, military, and economic duel between the United States and Japan that spanned the first half of the 20th century. BOOK I Lie for a Living: Greatest Spies of All Time (National Geographic, 2006): Published in association with the International Spy Museum, this pocket guide portrays the 62 greatest known spies throughout history, including Benedict Arnold, Aldrich Ames, and Robert Hanssen. DVD Horses of Gettysburg (Inecom Entertainment Co., 2006): This two-DVD box set captures the relationship between soldiers and their horses. The documentary, the fourth installment in Inecom’s Civil War Minutes series, tells the dramatic story of the estimated 72,000 horses and mules that fought alongside soldiers at the Battle of Gettysburg. R etired Army Col. Roy Brooks, former president of the Georgia Retired Officers Association (now Georgia MOAA), led a campaign to provide a patient shuttle program for Martin Army Community Hospital at Fort Benning, Ga. The program, in its 10th year, is staffed by Red Cross volunteers. How did the shuttle program come about? I was the chief of logistics at the hospital. I realized that a lot of patients were handicapped or disabled, and they had troubled getting from the parking lot to the clinics. It’s a long walk. The hospital couldn’t afford shuttles, but finally, one of the commanding generals’ wives heard about what we wanted to do, and she made it happen. We’ve carried more than 400,000 patients and worn out two shuttles since we started. You still volunteer a couple of days a week. Why do you do it? Well, you’d think with all the retirees around here, we wouldn’t have trouble getting drivers. We do. I’ll quit one day. I don’t know when. I like driving, and I like helping people. Studies show seniors who volunteer live longer than those who don’t. You’re 92. What do you think? No male on my father’s side lived to be 60, so I figured I wouldn’t either. I just kept going. I keep volunteering, and I think the good Lord helps me out. I’ve asked him to keep me around till I’m 100. — Bridgett Siter Survivors on the Web he VA has created a new Web site for the surviving spouses and dependents of military personnel who died on active duty and of veterans who died after leaving the military. The Web site is organized into two categories: death in service and death after service. It provides visitors with information about a range of benefits for the surviving spouse, dependent children, and dependent parents of deceased veterans and active duty personnel. The site also has information from — and links to — other federal agencies and organizations that offer benefits and services to survivors. “One of the VA’s basic missions is to care for the survivors of veterans and military members,” says VA Secretary R. James Nicholson. MO ON THE WEB ■ To access the site, visit www.vba.va.gov/survivors. T PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT http://www.vba.va.gov/survivors
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