Jul 5, 2008

Volunteer veteran

WWII sailor, fighting cancer, recognized for 21 years of VA service

By Mark Abramson / Daily News Staff Writer

Burlingame resident Bruno DelCastello doesn't want age and deteriorating health to slow him down from volunteering for the Veterans Administration.

Sure, 87-year-old DelCastello is not as able-bodied as he used to be, and he is taking a breather from volunteering at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in San Francisco to help his wife, Mildred, recover from a broken arm. But he says he can't wait to get back to helping his fellow vets.

When DelCastello can, he volunteers up to eight hours at the hospital on Mondays.

DelCastello's dedication to volunteering was recognized by Veterans Affairs in April. He has given 6,102 hours of his own time since January 1987.

"I would like to go back," DelCastello said. "I just enjoy doing it. The fellow veterans, I like to help them out."

DelCastello said he feels a connection to the veterans because he served in the Navy on a seaplane tender and the battleship USS Arkansas during World War II. He worked in the engine room on both ships and manned a 20mm machine gun while on the tender. He saw action in the Philippines that included helping to rescue American servicemen in 1942 who were forced by the Japanese to make the infamous Bataan Death March. He also is a past commander for Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 236 in San Francisco.

DelCastello said he especially likes sharing his experiences with fellow veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He has yet to meet veterans who have served in Afghanistan or Iraq.

DelCastello started volunteering as an escort, moving veterans confined to wheelchairs around the hospital. Later he began driving veterans to and from doctor's appointments between San Francisco and Palo Alto. He has also worked in the pharmacy and other areas of the hospital.

Today he helps move medical records from place to place in the hospital and talks to the veterans.

He is fighting a doctor's efforts to stop him from driving outside his Veterans Affairs service.

"It keeps me young," DelCastello said about volunteering. "The reason I'm slowing down is because I have prostate cancer."

Veterans Affairs officials said they believe DelCastello has some good years left in him. They have seen volunteers as old as their early 90s help out.

"He can still be involved in being an escort or being a greeter," said Tony Le Roy, a volunteer services specialist at the Veterans Affairs hospital. "Volunteers are a valuable asset to the VA."

DelCastello also keeps busy when at home at the Atria assisted living facility in Burlingame. He is president of the resident council, which helps devise solutions for problems or gets residents' ideas implemented.

"A lot of older people remain active and involved," said Anna Johnston, the Engage Life director at Atria. "I'm glad he is (involved) because it means he is still very healthy. Bruno is particularly active in volunteering with the VA. It's pretty amazing. It's a very important part of his life."

Johnston also described DelCastello as fiercely independent. She was supposed to drive him to a doctor's appointment in Palo Alto on Wednesday, but by the time she got to Atria, he had already hopped into his car and left.



E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.