Sometimes veterans across generations can help one another, even when they have never met. Mike Piper and his wife, Carol, were proud of Mike’s father Robert L. Piper Jr.’s service to our country as a U.S. Navy aviator during World War I. And, when Mike’s Army Reserve unit was called up during the Cuban Missile Crisis, he, too, faithfully served our nation.

Unfortunately, his father died when Mike was young from complications sustained after an accident in a flying patrol boat in service. Reflecting on the injuries her father-in-law endured, Carol said, “When you consider the lack of protection these pilots had as they flew, compared to today, the injuries they sustained in a crash were beyond description.”

Airships were used in World War I to patrol, look for mines, escort convoys and perform reconnaissance.

Robert’s service was unique. When America entered the war in 1917, he was one of 15 U.S. Navy seamen who completed training in the first Army and Navy aviation ground school class and prepared to fly blimplike dirigibles. He deployed to a French naval base where he and five others embarked on extended flights, some lasting over 20 hours. Throughout the war, Robert logged over 245 hours in dirigibles, or lighter-than-air (LTA) craft.

When Mike died a few years ago, it was a veteran from yet another generation—a Marine who had served three tours in Afghanistan—who helped guide Carol as she considered which organization to support. She relied on the advice of this neighbor, who was medically retired and so encouraged her to support DAV.

Carol chose to honor both Mike’s and his father’s legacies by making the decision to leave a gift through her estate to DAV in support of their fellow veterans.

“I asked (my neighbor) because I knew he’d tell me honestly,” said Carol. “It’s because of the service of Robert L. Piper and Mike Piper that I’m leaving a portion of my estate to DAV.”