Disabled vets help comrades
Veterans helping veterans. It seems only natural.
But disabled veterans helping other disabled veterans: That could be a difficult task. Unfortunately, sometimes it's the only way they can get the help they need.
"The government is very good at making veterans, but it takes an effort to get them to take care of them," said Art Greathouse, commander of the Disabled American Veterans Butler Chapter 64.
Many people are unaware of the work done by the Disabled American Veterans.
"A lot of people don't know the DAV is the third largest (veterans) services organization in the country" behind the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, said Eugene Wise, former commander of the Butler Chapter.
"We don't have a bar or means of raising money," he said.
Wise was a coxswain in the Coast Guard. He was on active duty during the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1969, and in the Reserves from 1970 to 1973.
Greathouse was an Army sergeant and is a Vietnam War veteran. He was on active duty from 1965 to 1988, and in the Reserves until 1999.
Greathouse suffers hearing loss from explosions, as well as back injuries.
"I went down with a helicopter," he said. "It happened in Taiwan."
On the local level, much of what the DAV does is provide free transportation to veterans to doctor appointments at the Butler Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Butler Township, and the Pittsburgh VA when necessary.
Clients come from Butler, nine surrounding counties and eastern Ohio, Greathouse said.
The DAV purchases the vans, provides volunteer drivers and coordinates the transportation.
Once purchased, the DAV donates the vans to the Veterans Administration, which provides fuel, maintenance and insurance.
Clients don't have to be disabled. Any veteran lacking transportation qualifies.
Drivers don't have to be veterans — they just have to be trained, certified and willing, Greathouse said. They are not paid.
"It takes a special person to be a volunteer driver," Greathouse said. "Once they get to the hospital, they can't leave until the person is ready to go home."
Drivers work anywhere from a few hours a day to more than a dozen. Some have driven up to 500 miles in a single day, according to Dan Gitzen, the DAV's coordinator at the Butler VA center.
Gitzen has been coordinator there for 15 years and has his own office. Gitzen was a petty officer in the Navy from 1973 to 1977.Besides coordinating rides, Gitzen helps steer the veterans with any related issues, such as dealing with the bureaucracy and filling out paperwork."I love my job," he said. "I love being able to serve my fellow veterans. I might have 10 to 15 calls a day and see between three and 10 people for all kinds of requests. Most people come to me for benefit-related services."If I can help somebody I will."Bob Riddell of Butler, who served with the military police in the Army from 1953 to 1955, has been a driver since 1995 — logging more than 30,000 miles in that time."I love it," Riddell said. "It helps out the vets. A lot of them don't have transportation. Most really appreciate it."The Butler DAV has two seven-passenger vans and two 12-passenger vans at the Butler VA facility, plus another seven-passenger van in Beaver County. It plans to get another to serve Lawrence County. It has 23 volunteer drivers, Greathouse said.Besides helping with transportation and VA service coordination, members of the Butler DAV chapter place flags on veterans' graves each Memorial Day and take them down after Veterans Day to be disposed of properly.This year, they placed flags at 1,176 graves at three area cemeteries, Greathouse said. The flags are donated by the Butler County Veterans Administration."We also take care of the bronze grave markers on veterans' graves when they get damaged," he said.On Oct. 31, they also volunteered at the Butler VA hospital, helping give flu shots to more than 500 veterans."They do a lot of good work," said retired Army Master Sgt. Abie Abraham of Renfrew, a survivor of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines during World War II and a longtime DAV member."They'll follow up on claims and everything," he said. "They even help the families out, sometimes with utility bills, as long as they have the money."Abraham has done more than 32,000 hours of volunteer work at the VA hospital in Butler Township.
Besides surviving the infamous death march during which hundreds of American and Philippine soldiers were butchered by Japanese forces, Abraham said he was shot in the leg and hit in the back with shrapnel.However, Abraham doesn't like to talk about his own problems, preferring to help others."They should increase the benefits for a lot of these guys," he said. "On low budgets, they can't even survive. The meatheads in Washington gotta go."Greathouse said the Butler DAV chapter's annual budget averages $8,000, a modest amount when the cost of the vans is considered.The group's only funding comes from donations, and the sale of Forget-Me-Not pins at the Butler Fall Fest and other events.Although there are about 700 members in the local DAV chapter, only 15 to 20 are active because of the disabilities, Greathouse said."They do what they can, when they can," he said. "They're doing an excellent job."Greathouse said some of the younger veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are beginning to join the DAV."We're starting to get some," he said. "There are times of expansion and times of collapse. This is a time of expansion."The criteria for joining the group is not a good one.""This is one of those groups where you don't want members," Wise said.The national DAV has more than 1.2 million members, from World War I through the war in Iraq, with local chapters throughout the country, according to its Web site, www. dav.org.The national organization concentrates on lobbying for legislation to help disabled veterans. It was formed in 1920 in the aftermath of World War I.The group helped in the fight for Vietnam War veterans who are victims of the defoliant Agent Orange, and who have disabilities from the diseases it caused.
Greathouse said post traumatic stress disorder has also been recognized as a service-related disability."That's something that had to be fought for," Greathouse said. "During World War II it was considered shell shock, like it didn't exist."He said the local DAV chapter is giving the Butler VA hospital an award for its PTSD program."They're doing an excellent job,"Greathouse said."The big issue today," he said, "is traumatic brain injury."He said some soldiers are returning with amnesia after being near exploding roadside bombs."I think that's something that's going to get addressed."John Cyprian, director of Butler County Veterans Services, said the DAV's work is "very important.""It's a real morale booster," he said. "I think they need to publicize what they do. They wouldn't have such a struggle with their fundraising efforts."Anyone who would like to contribute to the Butler DAV should send a check, payable to DAV Chapter 64, P.O. Box 1728, Butler, PA 16001.Veterans in need of assistance, or to contact the Butler chapter, call Gitzen at his office at the Butler VA hospital at 724-287-4781, Ext. 5010.
