'Veteran things' keep McHenry resident busy
Nearly every day, Donald Curfman is busy doing "veteran things."
"If I need help, I ask for it. But you learn, when you are in the military, to do things," the 69-year-old from McHenry said. "You just get them done. You say, 'OK, I'll get tired later.'"
Curfman, an accounting instructor at McHenry County College who served 26 years in the Navy, has had a hand in lots of veteran initiatives over the years.
He's co-chaired the college's Veterans Day committee since its inception following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He's the adviser for the Student Veterans of America chapter at the college, where he helped expand the Student Veteran Resource Center about four years ago.
He is a founding member of the McHenry County Patriot 5K Run, for which he volunteers every June.
The race has raised more than $100,000 to help veterans in the last four years, he said.
He has done work for the Veterans Assistance Commission of McHenry County scholarship committee. He's a member of the Military Officers Association of America, volunteering for its scholarship committee, and the Fleet Reserve Association, helping raise money for the effort to open the National Museum of the American Sailor in North Chicago.
He's also a member of American Legion Post 491 and VFW Post 4600 in McHenry, for whom he volunteers to help fellow veterans, and served for 20 years on McHenry County Federal Credit Union board of directors, helping veterans get loans.
"Most days. Every day. There's always something going on," Curfman said.
Curfman grew up in Portland, Oregon in a family with a long lineage of Navy veterans, including one of his grandfathers, father and two uncles.
He enlisted in 1968, after graduating from high school, because it was either that or be drafted for the Vietnam War, he said.
"I served with my brother, on the same ship, in the '70s. That was kind of cool," he said. "Even now, when we get together, it's all we talk about."
Curfman served all over the Pacific Ocean - including Japan, the Philippines and Hong Kong - and once was at sea for 175 out of 180 days in the Persian Gulf, he said.
He met his wife, Bonnie, when they were both stationed in Hawaii; one of their children served four years in the Navy.
Curfman retired as a lieutenant commander in 1994, when he was stationed at the former Naval Air Station Glenview.
McHenry County College has 236 veterans, out of about 7,000 students, who need various types of assistance, from advice about financial aid to simply a friendly ear, Curfman said.
"You have to be understanding, sometimes, especially with the younger vets. Some have been back from Afghanistan for two months, three months, and it looks from the outside like they are acting weird," he said.
Many need reassurance that the college is a safe place, Curfman explained, so he shows them security features, like alarm buttons by the instructors' desks.
He also encourages them to explore classroom seats other than in the back and close to the exit.
Sometimes, it's just about veterans feeling like fellow students don't understand what they've been through, which can be aggravating, Curfman said.
"You got to chill them down, you got to talk to them about it," he said. "They can talk to the other vets, and they have all experienced the very same thing."