In the heart of every veteran lies a story, and for 98-year-old Bill O'Neill, that story spans three wars over 25 years.  

Bill proudly served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program when he was still in high school and after graduation, he joined the Air Force. He graduated as a second lieutenant pilot in March 1945 and retired after World War II.  

When the Korean War started in 1945, he reentered the service. He flew 20 types of aircraft during his 25 years in the service and while in Korea, he flew 52 combat attack missions. He also flew countless combat support missions in and out of Korea and Vietnam. After he was released from active duty, he joined the Reserves and retired in 1968. 

“I knew I wanted to be a pilot the day I saw my first airplane,” said Bill. “I flew in the military for 25 years and when I retired, I bought a plane and my wife and I spent the next 25 years flying around the United States and Canada.” 

Bill was diagnosed with lung cancer and has been under the care of Lutheran Hospice for the past month. On October 30, his Hospice care team, volunteers, and family and friends joined Bill and his family at their home for a special pinning ceremony. They thanked him for his service and gifted him with a quilt, certificate, poem and resources to help veterans who are in hospice. 

Lutheran Hospice is part of an organization called We Honor Veterans that focuses on end-of-life care for the brave men and women who have served our country.  

Larry Sturgeon, a Vietnam War veteran and volunteer at Lutheran Hospice, presented Bill with a piece of an American flag, Vietnam veterans' beads and a We Honor Veterans pin. Only Vietnam veterans are allowed to make the beads and pin another Vietnam vet.  

Lutheran Hospice is steadfastly dedicated to serving veterans and they perform these pinning ceremonies weekly. 

“The pinning ceremonies are so special, especially to the men and women who served during the Vietnam era,” said Ginger Cooley, Lutheran Hospice liaison. “Most were never welcomed home, and this is a tribute to honor them and say, ‘Welcome Home’. The veteran no longer feels forgotten, stories are told, and sometimes for the first time, healing happens, and memories are made that will last forever.” 

Larry said, “Carry me as a reminder that you are not forgotten,” as he handed the piece of the flag to Bill. After, he saluted him and said, “Welcome home,” which brought Bill to tears. 

“Bill was one of the brave men and women who said yes when our country asked them to serve,” said Larry. “I’m honored to be here today to let him know how much his service means to us.” 

“Veterans Day is about recognizing my country and how hard we fought to maintain our democracy,” Bill said. “It’s a time to pay homage to every American who served in the military. I have great respect for our country and the flag, and I appreciated every minute I spent in the service. It was my absolute pleasure to serve my country.” 

Each year on Veterans Day, we honor and remember the courage, sacrifice and unwavering commitment of the brave men and women who have served in the armed forces.  

Two of those people are Victor Sutphen III and his wife, Nichole Sutphen. Victor served three years in the U.S. Navy and Nichole served six, both as hospital corpsmen. They now work at St. Mary’s Medical Center; Nichole is an Operating Room RN shift supervisor and Victor is a senior technology analyst. 

Nichole joined to serve her country and discover what she wanted out of life, while Victor joined to serve his country, see some amazing things and earn money for college. They each took the ASVAB, a military aptitude test to see where they would be a good fit, and both scored exceptionally high. Although their recruiters encouraged them to pursue different routes, they both felt their heart and career was in the medical field.   

“I had this feeling that I was going to regret not going the medical route, so I ended up signing as a hospital corpsman for the Navy,” said Nichole. “Ultimately, it led me down an amazing career path. I don't know anybody that has had the unique experiences that I have and I’m very fortunate.” 

“I felt the need to serve after the Persian Gulf War ended and I discovered there weren’t enough Corpsmen, which caused many naval reserve medics to be called to active duty,” said Victor. “My grandfather was a Tuskegee Airman who later became a pharmacist and owned a drug store, so serving the community was instilled in me at a very young age. I wanted to do the same thing.”  

Like Victor, Nichole also comes from a military family. Her father was born and raised in Laos and was recruited by the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Nichole thrived in the military. She was one of the first females in a Navy leadership role at Recruit Training Command, and the first female recruit petty officer in charge in years to be entrusted to run Drill Hall Week.  

Nichole and Victor have been married for 19 years and have six children. They first saw each other in boot camp 23 years ago, though they didn’t speak. Several weeks later, they found themselves at the same military school.  

They were both sent to corpsman school in Iowa where they learned how to be combat medics and do everything from setting up field hospitals to performing surgeries in the field and providing medical care to Navy personnel. Corpsmen train as soldiers as well as medical technicians and serve alongside both Navy and Marine forces. After, both Victor and Nichole went to Virginia to continue their education in medicine – Victor as a pharmacy tech and Nichole as a surgical tech. 

“We were taught so many incredible emergency lifesaving procedures,” Nichole said. “It’s helped me so much in the medical field today. We were taught how to do minor surgeries, tracheotomies, intubation and more. I’m very grateful for that training.”  

When they left the military, they were living in Florida when Nichole got a job offer from St. Mary’s. She said she would come if Victor could too. They were thrilled to find out the hospital had a job in IT that was perfect for him. They say they bring their military values, work ethic and training with them every day to St. Mary’s.  

“Serving in the military gave me a sense of pride in my country and it prepared me for the career here,” Nichole said. “I have a strong sense of accountability and I strive for excellence every day. I had some of the best training I could’ve gotten in the military, and I think it has served me well.” 

“The Navy teaches you discipline and how to be accountable and responsible,” Victor said. “That was life-changing for me and I keep those things with me every day. I try to do good to others and teach our children to do the same. That and the professionalism I learned were some of the best lessons in life that anyone could ever learn.” 

Veterans Day is a time to honor those from every branch of the United States Armed Forces who have served our country. We celebrate and salute these heroes for their service and unwavering dedication to protecting our liberties and freedoms.  

Staff Sergeant Oomar Olivas is one of those heroes. Oomar is a member of the Colorado Army National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery Regiment. He joined the Guard in August 2011 and is a Platoon Sergeant in his unit. He is also one of our caregivers. Oomar joined SCL Health, now Intermountain Healthcare, three years ago as an End User Analyst in our System office in Broomfield.    

“Serving in the military was something I always wanted to do, but I decided to go to school instead,” said Oomar. “Even after graduating, I still wanted to pursue it.”   

As luck would have it, his wife helped make his dream a reality. As they drove down the street more than a decade ago, they passed an airman and Oomar’s face lit up. His wife suggested he join the Army National Guard so he could live his dream, serve the community, and still come home to his family at night.  

“Serving in the military, and specifically in the National Guard, gives me an opportunity to serve my community and help my neighbors and loved ones in a way that isn’t typical of active-duty Army,” said Oomar. “One of my biggest hopes was to be able to assist people during some sort of natural disaster and to be able to go out and help people in their times of need. Joining the Guard allowed me to do that.”  

Oomar assisted with the fires in late 2020, Washington, D.C.’s January 6, 2020 call for support, winter rescues and missing persons searches. He explained that while helping with local events has been extremely fulfilling, he’s also been able to serve on a global scale. He recently returned from his second deployment – his first was to Afghanistan and his most recent was to Syria and the United Arab Emirates.   

Oomar was deployed for just over a year and returned home in October of this year. “Returning home was a huge relief because I greatly missed my friends, family and work,” he said. “It felt like a burden had been lifted because while I was serving overseas, my family was serving just as much here at home. My wife took care of everything while I was gone, and my kids went without their dad. Relieving that stress on everyone felt phenomenal.”  

Since the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Veterans Day has held more meaning to Oomar because of how many people felt the impact.   

“Veterans Day is a time to reach out to my brothers and sisters to see how they’re doing, and to remember those who are currently serving and who have served,” he explained. “I really enjoy that people go out that day and enjoy the freedoms that are afforded to them here in the United States.”  

Oomar learned many important military lessons and skills that he applied to his job at Intermountain Healthcare, as well as skills he learned on the job that he applied to his military service.  

“Leadership takes practice and intentionality and it’s not always my way or the highway,” said Oomar. “Those less experienced often have fresh ideas and perspectives and it’s important to consider everyone’s input to continue to grow as a leader. A good leader never stops growing.”  

Oomar’s message for Veterans is that there’s always time for self-improvement. “It’s important that we continue to build on our skills and utilize the resources provided to us no matter how difficult they are to get to,” he said. “That’s the way we make the workplace better and that’s the way we make ourselves better. When it comes down to it, that’s the way we all move forward.”  

We thank Oomar and all our caregivers who have served and are currently serving our country. You are true heroes, and we are grateful for all that you do!