{"id":7679,"date":"2026-01-18T21:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7679"},"modified":"2026-01-18T21:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T21:30:00","slug":"on-a-mission-to-better-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7679","title":{"rendered":"On a mission to better health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2026-01-18T21:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

To aging healthily<\/h2>\n

At age 79, Jack Nist has taken up a new mission: He\u2019s finding ways to encourage his fellow Veterans to take advantage of the care they have earned at VA. He believes the people at VA make a huge difference in patient care.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery person I meet at VA\u2014be it medical staff or janitor\u2014I ask their name, and I share this little speech,\u201d said Nist, a Vietnam Veteran. \u201cYou always thank us for our service, so I want to thank you for being here because you could be someplace else. And my feedback for the Minneapolis VA is that VA treats the person, civilian medicine treats the disease\u2014a huge difference in care. You\u2019re in a good place, and I thank you.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nist\u2019s service began on April Fool\u2019s Day, 1969. It was the first day of his Naval Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Fla. Within the first week of training, he got blisters on his feet that morphed into something more serious. He was put on bedrest in a surgical ward for returning Vietnam War Veterans, and he was the only one completely confined to his bed. He said that the wide variety of wounds these young men had suffered educated him about what was happening in the war.<\/p>\n

He became a naval aviator\u2014the A-3 Sky Warrior was his plane of choice\u2014and flew aerial refueling and electronic warfare missions for an A-3 detachment that soon deployed to the Gulf of Tonkin.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal became trying not to lose anybody while I was in the air,\u201d he said. Nist completed 75 missions. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

He returned home in 1972 to live out a \u201cfull life,\u201d filled with family and a creative career as a screenwriter and college professor.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A critical piece of advice<\/h2>\n

Early on in Nist\u2019s VA care, his primary care provider told him: \u201c\u2019There are four things people should do as they age that they often don\u2019t do: Eat and drink; don\u2019t take in less calories when you\u2019re older, and be sure to drink enough water. Move. Sleep. And whatever you do, make sure that what you do is meaningful to you.\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

That last piece of advice is what Nist has taken to heart throughout his life. As he navigates the limitations of his newly diagnosed Parkinson\u2019s Disease, he is focused on amplifying the great health care he receives at Minneapolis VA<\/a> and on making all staff who are part of that care know that they are appreciated.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s never too late to apply for VA health care you\u2019ve earned. If you are a Veteran or know a Veteran who has not yet applied for their VA health care benefits, learn how to\u00a0get started<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Veteran Jack Nist relies on VA care to fulfill his latest mission: his health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-health-care"],"yoast_head":"\nOn a mission to better health - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Veteran Jack Nist relies on VA care to fulfill his latest mission: his health.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7679\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On a mission to better health - Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Veteran Jack Nist relies on VA care to fulfill his latest mission: his health.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7679\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-18T21:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7679#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7679\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668\"},\"headline\":\"On a mission to better health\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-18T21:30:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7679\"},\"wordCount\":513,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7679#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-11.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Health & Care\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7679\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7679\",\"name\":\"On a mission to better health - 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