Former wounded warrior is spending his retirement volunteering at Walter Reed

As more and more wounded service members came home from Iraq and Afghanistan in 2006, Steve Peth knew he had to do something to help.

A Vietnam veteran, the newly retired Peth had the time to give back. Able to drive in from his home near Quantico, he became a Red Cross volunteer at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. — and when the hospital moved to Bethesda, Maryland, becoming the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, he followed. In the years since, he's formed tight bonds with patients in the Department of Rehabilitation's amputee program. "Anything you can do for them is really appreciated, and that's really amazing," Peth, 72, told The Week. "That's what motivates me."

After joining the Army in 1967, Peth was a medical evacuation helicopter pilot, a dangerous — yet rewarding — job. When his helicopter was hit 39 times by fire, he ended up with serious injuries, later earning the Purple Heart, in addition to the Silver Star and two Distinguished Flying Crosses. He says he remembers what it was like to be in the hospital and go through physical therapy, and can empathize with patients as they learn how to adjust to their new way of life. "It's a lot easier for me as a volunteer to talk to patients because I've been a patient, talk to a service member because I am a veteran, but you don't have to be wounded to be a volunteer," Peth said. "There are civilians that have just decided they want to give back."

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Volunteers make up 90 percent of the Red Cross' workforce, and Peth determines which volunteers are a good fit for the amputee program and oversees them. There are about 75 volunteers, all ages and from different backgrounds, which keeps Peth busy. "In retirement, I get to do something that is valued," he said. "I don't get a paycheck — I get back a lot more than what I give."