Great Falls couple pays for disabled vets'
bus rides
Married Air Force veterans Frank and Mary Ghee of Great Falls wanted to do
something to help veterans with disabilities, especially after attending a June veterans'
conference in Butte.
"We came back and got right on it," Frank said.
One problem for veterans with disabilities is getting to medical appointments in Great
Falls, according to the Ghees.
"The people that really need the service have to get somebody to take them to the
clinic," Frank said.
During the summer, the Ghees began paying for free rides on the Great Falls Transit
system for vets with disabilities. Great Falls buses paratransit vans run Monday through
Saturday.
"The first couple of months, it didn't do very good," Frank said of the couple's efforts
Then news of the free service began to spread. Last month, use of Great Falls buses by
veterans with disabilities mushroomed.
Vets with disabilities took 166 rides on the system's paratransit vans, which cost $2 per
trip; and 116 rides on the regular city buses, at 50 cents per trip.
The total October bill for the Ghees was $390 — almost twice what the couple hoped to
spend.
"It's just gone crazy," said Jim Helgeson, general manager of Great Falls Transit. "We
need to fine-tune this."
Veterans applauded the Ghees' efforts.
"This is a fantastic thing for the veterans," said veteran Sue Dendy of Great Falls.
Dendy learned about the program a while back at the Veterans Administration clinic in
Great Falls. She said she is pleased the service is available, since a number of veterans
have a difficult time getting around the city.
The Ghees said they are happy to help, although Frank said he hopes their plan won't
"put us in the poor house."
"Like all veterans, we are on limited finances," Frank said, but added, "There's no joy
like helping somebody else."
Donations to the transit system for bus rides for veterans with disabilities could help
their situation, Frank said. He added that someday veterans groups might decide to
jump in and finance the program.
For now, "I'm pleased (with) the way that it's working," Frank said.
Helgeson said the program could be restricted at some point to transportation for
medical reasons, while Frank said people could be encouraged to use the less
expensive buses rather than paratransit vans, which pull up to riders' doors. No decision
has been made on possibly restricting the program.
Only veterans who are considered disabled are covered by the free bus fare program.
The Ghees are active in Disabled American Veterans groups. Mary is state president of
the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary, while Frank is chaplain for the Great Falls
DAV chapter.
Life is no picnic for some veterans, said Mary, citing a report that one-fourth of
homeless people in Great Falls are veterans.
"That's a shame," she said.
The Ghees met in the service while in San Antonio, where Mary cared for space-bound
animals in 1958 at the School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base. Mary
cared for a famous astronaut rhesus monkey named Sam, who went into orbit on a
Mercury spacecraft in 1959.
Mary stayed in the Air Force for about 14 months, and then left after she married Frank.
"She put down one monkey for another one," Frank joked.
Frank, who entered the service as an electrician, spent 27 years in the Air Force,
retiring as a senior master sergeant. In Montana, his field was missile maintenance.
In Great Falls, where he was assigned to Malmstrom Air Force Base, Frank went to
work for the bus system after receiving an honorable discharge.
The Ghees' have four children, including Genise Ghee, who worked for Colin Powell
when he was U.S. secretary of state, and Melony Ghee Griffith, who is a member of the
Maryland House of Delegates.
Both Frank and Mary qualify as disabled veterans.
"I see people that are hurt a lot more than I was," Frank said. "We all need to get
together and help those guys out — the guys without legs, the guys without hands."
Frank said improvised explosive devices used by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan are
taking their toll on American military men and women.
"I expect it to get worse before it gets better," he said.
Long-term, veterans could benefit from a wheelchair-accessible van that would take
them to Fort Harrison in Helena or around Great Falls. The Ghees said the Billings area
is expected to obtain such a van soon. VA vans are available to take vets to Helena for
medical care, but they do not accommodate wheelchairs, according to the Ghees.
Meanwhile, the Ghees are on edge as their program expands in Great Falls.
"We saw a need and we tried to lessen the need," Frank said. "If anyone else would
care to give in this endeavor, we would appreciate it."