I've Got a Great Job

[dmuldrew]

I work at a VA Hospital. I love working with the patients here. Everyone of em has a story to tell. I've met a guy who stormed the beach at Normandy when he was 18, a guy who was a sailor on the last ship sunk by a kamikaze pilot in WWII, and of course lots of guys from Iraq and Afghanistan. Today a guy who spent 28 months in a Chinese POW camp during the Korean War. I don't get to sit down and talk to all of em, but when I do it's always a rewarding experience, He told me that he was lucky to have been captured by the Chinese instead of the NOK. Because NOK was killing their prisoners, tho at the time he didn't feel so lucky!

I try to tell em all that I appreciate what they have done.

 

[psychogecko]

Re: I've Got a Great Job

Glad you like the job Dennis. There are plenty of vets who love telling there story. It is great for you and if you like your job, you do a better job so congrats on finding a job you love.

 

[RichardTractorGuy]

Re: I've Got a Great Job

Nice to hear that our Vets are getting good care and people that enjoy working with them... I have taken care of quite a few.

 

[Inspector Gadget]

Re: I've Got a Great Job

Any chance you can get those vets to record their stories so that they endure past the day when those vets pass on?

 

[Oakland Tactical]

Re: I've Got a Great Job

It sounds like the makings of a great movie.

 

[Biscuit]

Re: I've Got a Great Job

When I was kid my mom was a nurse at the VA in San Diego. I used to go there on weekends and hand out fishing and hunting mags, talk about fishing and hunting with the vets. One guy promised to take me fishing when he got out. I was so excited, I counted the days for Mr.Ford to get well. Turned out he was homeless, did not have a lick of fishing gear to his name. Come to find out half of my favorites in there were homeless too. I just could not understand it. I still don't understand it.

 

[Barneyb]

Re: I've Got a Great Job

They gave their all.

 

[nock]

Re: I've Got a Great Job

I had to spend a lot of time in the VA hospital system after I was done with my active military service and the stories you hear in the VA hospitals are mostly true and always told again, and again, and again...

 

[jrassy]

Re: I've Got a Great Job

good for you.those stories are great,i spend a decent amount of time at the VA,and always had time to listen to the patients.It would be great to get those stories on record,and he was lucky to run into some Chinese,although they killed many wounded and non wounded POWS themselves,it just wasn't his time.take care

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: I've Got a Great Job

Thank you, Dennis.

I spend a of of time in the Upstate NY VA healthcare system. I catch a lot of the same sort of sentiment from the grand majority of VA caregivers. Not all, but most.

Greg

 

[Switchblade]

Re: I've Got a Great Job

Dennis,
That is one of my goal choices of work when I graduate my BS degree in Medical Technologies. It's either Nashville VA Campus, or Ft Campbell Army Hospital. My paid internship will of course run between APSU and Nashville VA where I have already pretty much been accepted(went there, met the 'man in charge' and made a contact letter for him and my student advisor...leg work to set myself up).
Lots of hard work, books, and class time, but it will be so worth it to get into a place working for our Veterans or our Soldiers from the 'other side of the fence'

 

[dmuldrew]

Re: I've Got a Great Job

It may not pay as high as some private institutions. But I find it incredibly rewarding. Some guys will tell you they were "only" a clerk or truck driver. But in my mind those people are as important as trigger pullers. Without them people don't get paid, inventories aren't maintained, beans and bullets disappear. Support, fuel, ammo and aid aren't around when you need em. There are no jobs in the military that aren't important. All of these guys raised their hand and promised to do their job in support of this great country. Many of em sacrificed a great deal of their livelihood so that we can live the lives of our choice. Being able to give a bit back to them is only a little bit of the thanks I can return.