Dan: Volunteering has tremendously changed me as a person.
What started as wanting to give back
to those who have served our country
has become much, much more than that.
Volunteering isn't necessarily mopping floors
or taking out the garbage.
It's a way that you can help people
through something that you love
and something that you're doing already.
Alan: The Veterans that I volunteer with are in the hospice,
so they're going through the final stages of life.
And it means a lot to me to be able to give back
to them at this time.
It expands your world view.
It enlightens you.
Those people have names.
Their eyes are warm.
They have stories that match mine, in some ways.
So, as the child of Lebanese immigrants,
I grew up in the United States
with an admiration of the freedoms.
I have a photo of myself and my mother
at around the age of 2
in front of the Washington Monument.
And that's kind of what has led me to volunteer with the V.A.
I volunteer a lot, and I greet
a lot of Veterans when they come in.
Listening to someone's story is very important.
And just a hug sometimes -- very important.
Never knew how important that was
until I started volunteering.
Dan: Fly-fishing had been a hobby, a pastime of mine.
And I didn't see how this could be used
and how this could have therapeutic properties to it.
There was a World War II Veteran that came in.
Now, you know that there's very few World War II Veterans
alive now, today.
So, I just told him it was very special and an honor
to meet him and greet him.
Kind of touched him by the hand, 'cause he was on his walker.
And they walked away.
Maybe three or four days later, his grandson came to me
and told me that he had passed away.
But he had mentioned me.
"Did you see that lady that was, you know, talking to me?"
So that made my day, that I made him smile.
I had the opportunity to comfort a Veteran
in the final stages of the dying process.
He didn't have any family with him at the time.
And at that point, I sat with him and held his hand.
And it was quite a powerful experience for me.
I wanted to make sure that he had the most peaceful experience
at this stage as he could.
When I was spending time with my grandfather --
Battle of the Bulge combat Veteran from World War II --
we really spoke a lot about being outdoors
and fishing and hunting.
And he began sharing stories of his time overseas in combat.
And these were stories that no one in my family had heard.
He never spoke of it at all.
Sitting with him at a diner over breakfast one day,
and out of the blue, he turned to me and said,
"Did I ever tell you about the first time
I jumped out of an airplane?"
And my jaw just dropped.
Hearing his stories of returning from Europe
and how he sought refuge in the outdoors,
it was an epiphany moment --
that I could take something that I love
to help other people.
That was a truly powerful moment in my life.
Alan: The most surprising aspect of volunteering in the V.A.
has been how bright and happy the hospice actually is.
A large number of the Veterans there
have quite a sense of humor.
They give it back to me.
"Hello! It's so wonderful to see you today!"
Dan: I oftentimes, after a day of volunteering at the V.A.,
drive home feeling enlightened and empowered
and unbelievably happy.
And that is a feeling, I think, anyone -- young or old --
should experience.