Giving Back To Veterans Who Gave So Much To This Country; 'It's Our Duty'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- On this Veteran's Day, this veteran has a mission: To make life easier for men and women who've given so much to their country.
CBS 2's Jim Williams reports on one man's inspiring story.
Jeff Emrich told CBS 2 his company's mission is simple: to do for clients what they no longer do for themselves. Some of those clients are his fellow veterans, brave men and women who now needed a helping hand.
For Jeff Emrich, military service is in the blood.
"My father and grandfather were both in WW2 and WWI," he said.
Emrich served in the Navy in the early 1970s. Now nearly 50 years later, service is still his life's work.
"They get to a stage in life when they get, you know, something like Parkinson's, or dementia," Emrich said.
He's talking about his clients. Some are veterans. Emrich is the owner of Bright Star Care, which provides in home medical care.
"So we're trying to help people maintain their independence and actually doing things," Emrich said. "Being in charge of their own lives."
Candice Goldstein's late parents, Elvin and Sheila, both served in WW2.
"My mother never seemed to think that she was, she never indicated that she was scared," Goldstein said. "My father did much more. He was frightened. Frightened of being crashing those in the plane."
Late in life, the Goldsteins needed assistance to stay in their home. So they turned to Bright Star Care.
"Especially because my mother developed these memory issues, like dementia it was very good, mentally, for her to be in her familiar environment," Goldstein said.
On this day, many veterans can't attend parades. But they should be saluted too.
"It's really our time as citizens, all of us, to honor the service that they gave us, and the willingness to serve, back when they were young and strong," Emrich said. "And now that they're in a different stage of life. It's our duty, I think, to give back to the service that they gave us."
On this Veterans Day, and throughout the year, some measure of independence at home.
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