By Marty Farrell
For the AJC
They were combatants of World War II, the Korean conflict or Vietnam. Today, many spend their days in assisted living facilities often combating loneliness.
Enter members from Alpharetta’s American Legion Post 201 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12002 in Roswell with a program they call “Veteran-to-Veteran.”
The volunteers, all veterans themselves, have adopted Bickford Senior Living of Alpharetta and the Villas at Canterfield near Cumming and the dozens of veterans living in them.
It’s the brainchild of retired Coast Guard officer Michael Giglio, who works tangentially in the elder care field and discovered these facilities were home to many veterans who didn’t get a lot of visitors. It evolved into what Giglio calls special times. Giglio noted that some of the vets they visit might have problems recalling things, but always seem to remember with great clarity things that happened in service as far back as 70 years ago.
Along with comfort baskets of toiletries and snacks put together by the Ladies Auxiliary of the American Legion, volunteers such as Vietnam veteran Andy Davis trade stories of bygone battles and military comrades with the veterans at Canterfield on one Wednesday each month.
Among the World War II veterans enjoying the visits is Bickford resident Sam Spivey, a spry 90-year-old who joined the Army in 1940 at age 15. He fought his way from North Africa, slogged through Sicily, landed at Normandy and soldiered through the Battle of the Bulge before retiring after 22 years of service.
The former sergeant major looks forward to the visits and the camaraderie and companionship they bring. Spivey wanted to show his appreciation and attended a recent Legion meeting with Giglio. Spivey brought with him a basket of moon pies, a favorite treat of soldiers in WWII. Each had a personalized note of thank-you for the organization’s members whose visits have enriched his life and that of the other old soldiers. A man of much accomplishment but few words, Spivey told the gathering, “I brought some moon pies – hope y’all enjoy ‘em.”
As for Giglio and the other volunteers, they readily admit benefitting as much and maybe even more from this program than the residents they go to see. Obviously, the outreach is a positive experience for both the visitors and the visited alike, and speaks to the affinity among those who served in the armed forces irrespective of when the uniform was worn.
This program may be a small thing in today’s busy world. Still it makes me proud to be part of organizations like the American Legion that extend small kindnesses to people who played a big role in making the world safe for democracy.
Marty Farrell lives in Cumming and can be contacted at martysyracuse@yahoo.com.
About the Author
