For five years, my father was the Commandant of the Vermont Veteran's Home, during which time I made regular visits to a number of residents - particularly in the dementia wing where they worked primarily with Alzheimers patients. I was continuously impressed by the level of care provided to the patients, though at the time I did not recognize the importance of caring for the veteran's; many of them had served in combat in World War 2 and Korea and some of the dementia patients seemed haunted by their experiences. Since my time in Vermont, I enlisted and have served for the past six years in the United States Marine Corps. I am now pending a medical seperation for injuries sustained on duty, and my appreciation for the incredible amounts of effort the nursing staff put forth for the patients in their charge has grown with my new found perspective.The Veteran's Home was exceedingly clean, and the staff, both in the medical and the administrative departments made it clear regularly that their primary concern was for that of the patients. It has left a lasting impression on me that is contradictory to the popular idea that nursing homes are negative places. I have the utmost respect for the nurses, doctors, and the rest of the staff that care for our elderly.