Homeless vets in orbit on KSC visit

Jan Greene won't soon forget his day at Kennedy Space Center.

"It is great that these people are doing this for us," said the 59-year-old veteran, who is homeless. "It's something that will stay with us. I can tell this to my grandkids. I'll go back to the camp and think about what I saw today."

Greene was one of three homeless veterans who were treated to a special day at the space center Monday. The idea was sparked by a KSC employee, Trudy Veach, who also is an American Legion Auxiliary volunteer who helps homeless veterans.

Greene, who served in the Navy from 1974 to 1978, and the others cheered after getting off the Space Shuttle Experience attraction. It was the beginning of their day at KSC, in which they would get a complete guided tour, have lunch with an astronaut and get a prime viewing spot forthe SpaceX rocket launch which, unfortunately, was postponed until no earlier than Friday.

Ann King-Smith and Billie Pierce, who with other American Legion Auxiliary volunteers help the veterans get their clothes washed once a week, accompanied the three men and the wife of one on the KSC visit.

"I'm so happy," Pierce said after the first two hours at KSC. "They need to feel they are part of the community. They deserve every moment of happiness we can give them. Yes, they are going back to the woods, but they've had a chance to have a good day and enjoy this."

Russell Marquis, who was on the visit with his wife, Kelly, said he had been to KSC years ago but that this visit was so much more special.

"It is pretty awesome," he said. "It's a humbling experience."

The visit was quite a reprieve for Kelly Marquis.

"This is like a vacation in the Caribbean for somebody else," she said. "We appreciate the opportunity. It's something we wouldn't get to do."

Robert Duda, who served in the Navy from 1982 to 1990, said he was humbled by the special treatment he received.

"They make us feel like VIPs," he said.

That's part of the idea, said Andrea Farmer, senior public relations manager for the KSC Visitor Center. The employee brought up the idea to treat the veterans to a visit and it was embraced by her managers.

"We support our staff and their volunteer efforts," Farmer said as she guided the group. "It's a really an honor to host this group of veterans who do so much for our country."

The veterans said that returning to their camps in the woods was simply part of their lives. Volunteers, however, wish they could offer them more.

"The hardest part about today is when we drop them off and they walk into the woods and wave at us as we drive off," King-Smith said. "They've had a good day but you always end with that, and that's what we have to change."