Maurice Bailey, we salute you

Sometimes a simple explanation is best. Today’s front page headline says it all about Maurice Bailey — he’s the vet’s vet.

A 20-year veteran of the U.S. Army himself, including two tours in Vietnam, nobody would deny Bailey, 68, the retirement of leisure he’s earned. Instead of leisure, retirement has allowed Bailey to pursue his passion — doing right by America’s veterans.

All of them.

Everywhere.

His mission has taken Bailey, a Wasilla resident, to the most remote places of Alaska over the past three years searching out veterans in the Bush who need assistance. A pilot and aviation mechanic, Bailey formed Veterans Aviation Outreach in 2005 and since has been flying into the state’s most remote places wherever there are veterans and a need.

The veteran community around Lake Illiamna needed a supply of flags so when a former serviceman or woman dies, he or she could have the customary flag-draped coffin. Members of the VAO flew out to Lake Illiamna with a supply of U.S. flags.

In Naknek, a small fishing village in western Alaska, light years from the bureaucracy of Washington, D.C., a group of veterans was having trouble filing Veterans Administration claims. Bailey and his colleagues helped with the paperwork.

A chainsaw, a wheelchair ramp, a ride to Anchorage for medical treatment — everyday needs going unmet are Veterans Aviation Outreach’s specialty. Bailey is in the business of doing what it takes to help his fellow veterans. Neither the mundane nor the difficult keep him from striving to help others.

Bailey may not be a young man anymore and he may not be pulling comrades out of the line of fire during combat. His actions for his fellow veterans are no less heroic and, while may seem small, change the lives of those who have sacrificed for freedom and the flag.

When Bailey and the VAO learned the story of a wheelchair-bound veteran, they were there to change his everyday life. The man’s wife would wheel him down the front steps and into the garage when she left for work, where he would spend the day woodworking and watching television. She would then wheel him back up the steps and inside at night. During the day, the man was a virtual prisoner in his own garage, not able to access his home to use the facilities or kitchen. So the VAO held garage sales and baked cookies to raise money and built the man a wheelchair ramp.

An accommodation many take for granted was a simple solution that enhanced the personal freedom and quality of life for this veteran. But it took the compassion and action of Bailey and his group to meet that veteran’s need.

Acts like these earned Bailey the Governor’s Veterans Advocacy Award, presented Veterans Day by Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell and Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Commissioner Maj. Gen. Craig E. Campbell. We can think of no one more deserving than Bailey and his VAO to represent true advocacy for veterans. He doesn’t pigeonhole his help by department, need or geographic location. He simply helps veterans anywhere in Alaska with whatever they need.

It is an honor to have a man of Bailey’s caliber living in our Valley. Maurice Bailey, we salute you.