» Volunteers for vets:
Van service gives veterans rides to doctor
Wisconsin Disabled American Veterans is in critical need of volunteers to drive veterans to medical appointments.
On a recent overcast morning, Tom Bierbach pulled up to a driveway in Greendale and Jim Lamb, clad in a “World War II veteran” cap, hopped out.
As the 90-year-old Navy veteran waved goodbye, he said: “Yeah — a long way from the bus stop for me.”
The 10-person Disabled American Veterans (DAV) van backed out and Bierbach headed toward Oak Creek to drop off John Swanson, an Air Force veteran who served during the Vietnam era.
On this day, Bierbach was giving free rides to and from the Milwaukee VA Medical Center for a dozen veterans, rolling up another 100 miles on the van’s odometer during his shift. He, too, is a veteran.
Bierbach, 68, volunteers twice a week and is part of a dwindling corps of drivers in Milwaukee who pick up and drop off veterans to their medical appointments.
Last year, 81 volunteer drivers handled appointments for veterans needing rides to the Milwaukee VA. This year, the number of drivers has dropped to 64, while the need by veterans seeking medical treatment continues to grow. At least 10 volunteer drivers are needed.
DAV officials say changing demographics is partly to blame for the critical need for volunteers. The largest pool is baby boomers and retirees who are either working longer, have aged out of public service or have moved away.
“It’s very difficult to find volunteer drivers,” said John Kleindienst, DAV national voluntary services coordinator.
The VA used to provide free rides for veterans to appointments at VA hospitals but when the funding was cut in 1987, the DAV stepped in. In the following three decades, the DAV has raised funds to buy and donate almost 3,300 vehicles to VA hospitals throughout the U.S. All drivers and most of the staff are volunteers.
Each hospital has a coordinator who handles schedules and routes. Any veteran going to a VA hospital — in Wisconsin that includes facilities in Madison, Green Bay, Appleton, Milwaukee and Tomah — can request the free service, which generally requires two weeks notice of the medical appointment pickup.
Last year, a dozen new DAV vehicles painted gray and lime green with the slogan “Fulfilling Our Promises to the Men and Women Who Served” were purchased through donations for use in Wisconsin.
Lamb, a signal man and gunner’s mate on Navy amphibious assault ships in the Pacific during World War II, needed a ride to his dermatology appointment on this day.
“It’s something we all rely on. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to get to our appointments,” said Lamb.
Picked up by Bierbach on the same route with Lamb was Swanson, 69, who needed to go to an occupational therapy appointment.
“It’s a godsend to me because I really didn’t have any choices. There’s public transportation but it would’ve been a long walk for me because I live in Oak Creek,” said Swanson, an airborne radio operator stationed at bases in the U.S. and Thailand during the Vietnam War.
Drivers need not be veterans, though most have served in the military. The only requirements are for volunteers to have a valid driver’s license and pass a basic physical through the VA. They’re given a DAV volunteer driver cap and shirt and a meal voucher each shift they work.
“My wife heard about it in the newspaper. She said this would be perfect for you — you love vets and you love to drive,” said Bierbach, who enlisted in the Navy in 1968 and was an ordnance man on the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier.
Bill Krauss, 62, who served in the Air Force 1973-’77, volunteered almost two years ago after hearing about the program from a friend who was a driver. He drives on Wednesdays though sometimes he picks up other shifts when there are openings.
“You’re making a difference in peoples’ lives,” said Krauss. “For me, it was time to give back — who better than (to) the men and women who served our country.”
To learn more about volunteering as a Disabled American Veterans driver, call Patty Davis at the Milwaukee VA, (414) 384-2000, extension 45715.