Rusty Rice is 84 years old and says she can't believe she's still talking about what happened 60 years ago.

Yet it was recalling that time in her life that led her to help those for whom war is a fresh memory.

Rice served in the Army Nurse Corps with the 7th Army during World War II. She spent most of her time working in the 236th General Hospital in the Voges Mountains in France during the Battle of the Bulge.

When she left the Army as a second lieutenant and returned to the United States in 1946, she settled into life in New York and New Jersey with her husband and raised three daughters.

She worked as a nurse but had few recurrent memories of her time nursing injured soldiers. Her civilian job was much different, she said. There were no tank battle burn victims in the cardiac care unit where she worked.

The buried memories began to resurface about a decade ago when interest in the stories of World War II veterans rose significantly.

"The grandchildren now are asking about it," she said. "It was a time in your life that's deeply ingrained in your brain."

Rice and her husband, Franc, also a World War II veteran, moved to Warm Hearth Village in Blacksburg about four years ago to be closer to their daughter Lorraine Wachsman, who is director of human resources for the retirement community. Rusty Rice is a member of the community's retired nurses group, the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary.

In November, Rice saw a newspaper photograph of American soldiers in Iraq with Iraqi children looking up at them. She thought the soldiers should have something to give the children, so Rice decided to do her part toward a national project of sending Beanie Babies stuffed animals to the soldiers. Dozens of businesses, organizations and individuals have sent tens of thousands of Beanie Babies to soldier in Iraq to give to children.

"I thought they could hand them out and take away fear and anxiety. During World War II, soldiers gave out candy and chocolate," Rice said.

She decided to collect 100 Beanie Babies to send to the troops. She shared her idea with the American Legion Auxiliary and Blacksburg Baptist Church, where the group meets. The kindergarten class at Blacksburg Baptist brought in 100 of the toys themselves. More came in from family, neighbors and a Warm Hearth employee, eventually totaling 229. Rice also collected a box of personal items to send to female soldiers, too. Both packages were sent through the Christiansburg National Guard unit.

Rice said it made her feel good to do something for those in a war-torn country.

"What else can we do? We can't do anything but complain and disagree with the powers that be," she said. "So this is something to do."

Other news and activities

Four Christiansburg seniors won medals at the Virginia Senior Olympic Games held in Virginia Beach last month. Don Agee, Willis Webb, Doris Oliver and Wanda Garrison all advanced to the national senior games that began Tuesday and continue through June 21 in Pittsburgh.

The Blacksburg Senior Center will host Movie Day at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, showing "Ray," starring Jamie Foxx.

Register by Friday for Pulaski Senior Center's June Dine Round to be held June 17 at The New Yorker Delicatessen in Roanoke. Depart center at 10:30 a.m. $3. Lunch on your own. Call 994-8627.

An insurance fraud seminar will be held at 10 a.m. on June 15 at the Christiansburg Senior Center. Speaker is Harvey Spahr. For more information, call 382-2349.

The Christiansburg Senior Center is sponsoring a trip to Foxwoods Casino and Mystic, Conn. Oct. 4-6. For more information, contact Tammy Caldwell at 382-8173 or tcaldwell@christiansburg.org.

Area senior centers and volunteer programs offer a variety of services, including crafts, dinners, seminars, picnics and trips. Most have newsletters and calendars listing monthly services and happenings. Contact each center for information.

Blacksburg Senior Programs: Blacksburg Community Center, 725 Patrick Henry Drive, Joy Herbert, 961-1134.

Christiansburg Senior Center: 1600 N. Franklin St., Tammy Caldwell, 382-2349.

Floyd RSVP: 323 Floyd Highway, PO Box 849, Judy Weitzenfeld, 745-2105.

Giles County Senior Center: 1320 Wenonah Ave., Pearisburg, Faith Plummer, 921-3924.

Giles County RSVP: 1410 Wenonah Ave., Pearisburg, Chris Blankenship, 921-2037.

Montgomery County and Radford RSVP: Health and Human Services Building, 210 Pepper St., Christiansburg, Angela Little, 382-5775.

Pulaski County RSVP: 106 N. Washington Ave., Ava Stilwell, 980-3969.

Pulaski Senior Center: 106 N. Washington Ave., Barbara Tate, 994-8627.

Radford Senior Center: 200 George St., Audrey Caldwell, 731-5517.

Senior shorts

Badminton: Wednesdays, 10:10 a.m. to noon, Blacksburg Community Center. Open play for all adults. Free. 961-1880.

Bingo: Wednesdays, 10 a.m., community room, New River Valley Mall, 382-6346.

Easy motions: Less strenuous exercise class. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m. in multipurpose room 2A, Christiansburg Recreation Center. A doctor's note and registration are required, 382-2349.

The Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Virginia Blue Ridge: Volunteer consumer-rights advocacy group that provides information about options available for funeral and other end-of-life arrangements, www.funerals.org/fcavbr, 953-5589.

Gospel Singing: Public invited monthly for gospel singing of old hymns on the following schedule: first Tuesdays, 10 a.m. at the Christiansburg Recreation Center, senior activities area; and first Wednesdays at 2 p.m. at Wheatland Retirement Center, Christiansburg. Musicians and singers welcome. Bench warmers and listeners, too. Call Mary Dotson, 382-8543.

Intrepid USA Healthcare Services: Provides free in-home evaluations to determine whether an individual qualifies for professional home-care services such as home health aid, medical social workers and physical therapy -- under Medicare, Medicaid or other insurance, 961-5464 or (888) 416-1428.

H2U: Seniors 50 and older may receive national and local benefits from membership in the Montgomery Regional Hospital Chapter. Contact Betty Jahn, 953-5291.

New River Valley Agency on Aging: Services include the Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program, which provides counselors to answer questions about Medicare, Medigap, insurance, prescription drugs and medical bills. For information, call (866) 260-4417 or 980-7720.

Viva Club: Offers health screenings, insurance assistance and physician referral, 731-2572.