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A SOLDIER HELPING SOLDIERS -- Keith Bristow

volunteers 40 hours every week

at the Hines VA Hospital.

 

 

Story here... http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/
napervillesun/lifestyles/233281,6_
5_NA29_5QS_S1.article

Story below:

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5 Questions: Keith Bristow

Advocate for veterans

By his own description, Keith Bristow is a soldier helping soldiers.

For more than 10 years, he has been a full-time volunteer for the Department of Veterans Affairs working as an ambassador with patient administration service at Edward Hines VA Hospital. He assists veterans in crisis, helping them get the benefits and services to which they are entitled.

Bristow was born and raised in Big Spring, Texas. His parents owned Bristow Oil, a business he and his brother took over after their parents died in the early 1970s. A graduate of New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, N.M., he went on to earn a degree in political science from Oklahoma University in 1969.

He was drafted right out of college and for a year and a half was an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam.

Upon completing his military commitment, he settled in Nederland, Colo. There he met musician Joe Walsh, late of The James Gang, who lived across the street. Walsh, who would eventually join The Eagles, had formed a band called Barnstorm and hired Bristow to be his road manager. Bristow toured with the band and was on the road for weeks at a time. After nearly two years, he left the group and moved back to Big Spring to work in the oil business he had inherited.

For the next 15 years, he remained in Texas where he and his first wife raised their children, Sarah and Aaron. During that time Bristow began volunteering at the local veterans hospital. Immediately something clicked with him, and he knew he had found a cause to champion and learned all he could about the VA health-care system.

His first marriage ended in divorce. He and his current wife, Sarah, have been married 10 years. They moved to Naperville after Sarah accepted a job in the Chicago area. While still maintaining control of his oil business in Texas, Bristow began volunteering 40 hours a week at Hines VA Hospital.

Bristow's family also includes a stepson and five grandchildren. Among his other interests are history, maps, thoroughbred horse racing, scuba diving and working out.

1. What is the most satisfying part of your work at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital?

You're immersed in a setting of veterans, of people who served their country. You will see some old man in a wheelchair who is maybe a little grumpy. If you know your history, this man is from when they were fighting World War II when Hitler was going to change this United States. They already had plans of tearing Washington D.C. down and rebuilding it the way they wanted it. It was for everything that these men fought, everything that we know and our way of life. We are surrounded by them and we're there to help them in any manner that we can. And for all the other people who served our country. You're there to help these people. It just fits like a glove. It feels good.

2. What was life like traveling with a rock band?

That was a circus. That was crazy. We had police motorcycle escorts in Memphis and one of the policemen allowed me to ride on the motorcycle. I had to put a policeman's hat on and a policeman's leather jacket on because it was against the rules to have civilians ride on (police) motorcycles. And we followed the limousine. ... Some of the stuff I'm not going to be able to say. Imagine, back in those days I had a .45 (caliber) pistol in the back of my pants because the briefcase I carried had the checks, the contract. I'd collect the money from different promoters while (the band was) on stage. So I had to protect the money. I had long hair then, down to my shoulders. I looked the part. ... I played a lot of chess. Joe liked to play chess. When we were on flights, we had a magnetic chess board with magnetic pieces on it and he was brilliant. He truly was brilliant. ... On the airplane Joe Vitale - he was the drummer, he was Ted Nugent's drummer for a while too - if they served Jell-O on the airplane, he would pick up the Jell-O every single time and throw it at a band member. ... I had stewardesses come to me several times and say 'can you please settle these people down?'

3. What are your feelings about the war in Iraq?

There's a commercial at last year's Super Bowl (that is set) in an airport waiting area and in walks a group of returning Iraqi veterans and they get applause and ovations. ... I get teary-eyed every time I think of that. I'm proud of them serving. As far as the politics are concerned, war is an outrageous sin against the way we were given to live. We should not be at war, ever. I'm against wars, any and all wars. I see young men, 18, 19, 20 years old, without legs. ... Their attitudes are so upbeat. When I returned, (from Vietnam) I was literally spit on in San Francisco at the airport. And when I got back out to west Texas, there were friends of mine that I grew up with and they treated me like ... I had become something they hated. I represented something. I couldn't understand that. ... I'm proud of them serving. You're just given your orders and you carry them out as best as you can. As far as the politicians and the folks that are giving the orders, that's another story. It's like I love my country, I'd put my uniform back on for my country. But I can't stand the government.

4. What was it like coming here from Texas?

I had no idea what to expect from the people, and I found west Texas has nothing over the friendliness I've experienced here in Naperville. ... In west Texas we're proud of ourselves on how friendly we are and I haven't seen anything but the same attitude here. ... I love Naperville. I didn't have any idea what this would be like in Illinois. I didn't know what crops you grew. I didn't know what the people would be like. I really didn't have any idea. ... Where I'm from there's a good distance between towns. Here, if you don't catch the sign on the side of the road it's like all one town all the way down to the Lake. We ride to the city a lot. We take the train a lot. It's a huge adult amusement park.

5. How would you describe yourself?

A proud grandfather, proud father, admiring husband and serves my country by volunteering.

If you would like to see a particular Naperville resident profiled for a future 5 Questions, contact Kathy Millen at 630-416-5204 or kmillen@scn1.com

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Larry Scott

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