- Hospice of Michigan is caring for veteran patients by pairing them with veteran volunteers and holding ceremonies in their honor
- Veterans sometimes can connect with one another on a different level than civilians
- Veteran volunteers appreciate the opportunity to give back to fellow vets
As some Vietnam veterans near the ends of their lives, a program at Hospice of Michigan connects vets with others who have served in the military through ceremonies and bedside visits.
Hospice can be isolating, said Dr. Adam Marks, a clinical professor of medicine in the division of geriatric and palliative medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School.
“Someone who has a certain degree of shared experiences will be much more likely to form a meaningful connection with someone to fight that sense of alienation and loneliness,” Marks said.
At Hospice of Michigan, veteran volunteers can interact with veteran patients in ways civilians can’t, or wouldn’t know how, said Von White, one of the volunteers.
“We got a camaraderie that a majority of the population doesn’t have, because we served together, we committed ourselves to the defense of our country,” said White, who served in the US Air Force from 1961 to 1965. “It’s just wonderful to be able to give back.”
It can be important for veterans to share details about their time in the military before they die, which they may feel most comfortable doing surrounded by fellow veterans, said Kathy Lietaert, statewide manager of volunteer services for Hospice Michigan.
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“You may have never shared any of that with your family,” Lietart said. “Maybe you want to say that to someone … who could understand what it was like in Vietnam.”
Volunteers honor service through ceremony
At a pinning ceremony, family and friends of a veteran patient gather in-person or online, alongside some of Hospice of Michigan’s veteran volunteers, to celebrate that patient’s service. Veteran volunteers read poems or say prayers over the patient, and family members share favorite memories.
The veteran patients receive a pin featuring a flag on one side and the Hospice of Michigan emblem on the other, with the veterans in attendance saluting the patient being pinned.
Gerald Przywara, who served in the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1966, has witnessed the impact such recognition can have.
As Przywara spoke with the veteran being pinned, “he just kept thanking me and shaking my hand,” he said. “He had tears in his eyes and everything.”
That service is especially important as many Vietnam veterans near the ends of their lives, said Lietaert, of Hospice of Michigan.
“They didn’t get the welcome back that maybe some of the other veterans got,” she said. They “could really have a need to share their stories, or to be honored, or to feel that their service mattered.”
Przywara joined Hospice of Michigan as a veteran volunteer in March 2025, and has since connected with a number of veteran patients.
“It leaves a lasting impression on you that you were able to do something for somebody, and they appreciate it,” he said. “You get satisfaction by doing something good for another human being.”
Veterans especially appreciate doing acts of service for fellow veterans, White said.
“When you see a man or a woman that put their lives on the line, taken the oath, and they’re willing to die for this country, it’s just something you don’t forget,” said White, who has volunteered with Hospice of Michigan for nearly 26 years. “That common bond is within us all.”
Veterans looking to volunteer with Hospice of Michigan can apply here.
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