West Mifflin VFW Life Member Donates $1,000 To Help Local Veterans

Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 July 2019 23:19

By Michael P. Mauer

A Mon Valley resident and life member of All State West Mifflin Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 914‘Intrepid’donated $1,000 June 27 to help local disabled servicemembers.

Lois Shirley, VFW Post 914 ‘Intrepid’ West Mifflin Life Member, right, receives a certificate from Post Commander Jake Bradich thanking her for the $1,000 donation she made to the post’s hospital visitation program June 27.

Lois Shirley, a Vietnam veteran who served as a career Army Nurse Corps officer from 1966 to 1988, was presented with a certificate from VFW Post 914 Commander Jake Bradich thanking her for the generous gift she made to the post’s hospital visitation program. The effort sparked a standing ovation during the unit’s monthly 7 p.m. meeting at the Thompson Run Athletic Association on Ball Avenue, West Mifflin.

Stationed with the 3^rd Field Hospital in Saigon, Vietnam, Shirley first worked as a staff nurse in tropical medicine. She was quickly promoted to head nurse - first for internal medicine, then also for the 100-bed convalescent unit. In her duties, she handled casualties directly from the battlefield.

Including her combat tour, Shirley completed 22 years with the Army Nurse Corps before retiring. She later became an instructor in the associate degree nursing program, and also director of disabled student services at the Community College of Allegheny County.

The retired Army nurse keeps herself active in veterans’ affairs. She serves on the board of Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Pittsburgh, and is a member of several other veterans service organizations.

Shirley’s donation will be used to help buy refreshments and snacks for patients and residents, as well as to purchase coupon books, and fund small cash prizes during bingo games at Southwestern Veterans Center. Patientsuse these windfalls to purchase things such as toiletry items and other sundry articles at the hospital canteen.

“My brother was a patient at Southwestern Veterans Center, and I know how much what the VFW does there is appreciated,” Shirley said.

For more information about VFW Post 914 and its activities, visit the group’s website at: http://traa.weebly.com/vfw-post-914.html, or contact VFW Post 914 Commander Bradich at: 412 508-1313.