Senior Corps RSVP Volunteer Sarah Styger visits the WWII Memorial in Washington, DC.

Sarah Styger with other WWII veterans visiting the WWII memorial in Washington, DC, courtesy of Big Sky Honor Flight.

From left to right: U.S. Senator John Walsh (MT), WWII Navy veteran and RSVP volunteer Sarah Styger, Big Sky Honor Flight volunteer, and U.S. Senator Jon Tester (MT)

RSVP volunteer, Sarah Styger, speaking with Dr. Erwin Tan, Director of Senior Corps.

Senior Corps RSVP Volunteer and World War II Vet Still Gives Back

Written by: Corporationfor National and Community Service

Sarah Styger, an 89-year-old Navy veteran who served in World War II, was honored May 12, 2014, at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. where she was joined by the Director of Senior Corps, Dr. Erwin Tan. She traveled to the memorial with other World War II veterans courtesy of Big Sky Honor Flight, an organization that honors veterans for their sacrifices and achievements by flying them to Washington, D.C., to see their memorial at no cost.

Service is important to Sarah. She enrolled in the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) at age 21 after hearing about the number of men who died in the Battle of the Bulge.

“I have always loved my country. I wanted to give back and help in some small way,” Styger said. She was raised on a farm where helping your neighbor was a way of life. “I was taught at an early age that we need to come together and help each other out.”

She enrolled in RSVP in 1989 in Billings, Montana where she has served in multiple RSVP placements over the past 25 years including working for Meals on Wheels, the American Cancer Society, Pompey’s Pillar National Monument and the Billings Area Chamber of Commerce. She received the Presidential Lifetime Volunteer Service Award in 2012. At age 89, she still serves as an RSVP volunteer with Billings Head Start.