The Armed Forces Retirement Home: A Sanctuary for Enlisted Soldiers

He joined the Army after Marine and Air Force recruiters in his native Chicago rejected him for being “too small.” Snubbing the part-white, Black and Native American teenager was their loss as Diamond served for 43 years with the Army and the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. His heroism in Vietnam earned him the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second-highest honor. Last May, Diamond wore his old uniform on stage at the National Memorial Day Concert, where he was saluted for his decades of service.

An urban oasis

Fees for a room, meals and services are based on one’s income and care level. At the low end is independent living, capped at $2,290 a month; at the high end is the memory support unit, topping out at $7,727 a month. Unlike in some retirement communities, there’s no entry fee.

The facility and a second campus in Gulfport, Mississippi, are financed in part by a mandatory payroll contribution of 50 cents a month paid by active-duty enlisted troops. The Armed Forces Retirement Home, an independent government agency, has the only federally owned and operated facilities for retirees from the enlisted ranks, and maintains ties to the Defense Department.

The payroll deduction was only 25 cents a month when married residents Larry Condon, 76, and Carol Rhan, 67, served, respectively, until the late 1980s and mid-1990s. Afterward they went on to far-flung civilian careers. A Marine, he served in Vietnam as a CH-46 helicopter door gunner and survived three aircraft crashes. She is fluent in Russian and Turkish and was an Air Force linguist and criminal investigator. The couple met while stationed in Turkey and have been married 40 years.

Larry Condon and Carol Rhan are seen kissing at the arts and craft shop.

Michael A. McCoy for AARP

Like others, they learned of the home by word of mouth. After 20 years in uniform, many veterans are relatively young and don’t have retirement living on their mind, so there’s a bid to spread the word about the home through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Transition Assistance Program (TAP) as they leave the armed forces, says Marine Robbins, a public affairs specialist for the home.

For history buffs, the tree-lined, 272-acre campus is home to a national monument: President Lincoln’s Cottage, a 34-room Gothic Revival mansion that was his summer White House at what was then called the Soldiers’ Home.

For VIPs, giving thanks is their reason to visit. President Barack Obama served Thanksgiving dinner from a chow line in 2016. Then-Prince Charles paid a visit in 2015. And this year, the first lady of South Korea stopped by to express gratitude to Korean War veterans and donated three massage chairs, though resident Norma Rambow says one threw her back out.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama serve Thanksgiving dinner to residents at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in 2016.

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Once a Marine, always a Marine

Soon after their first visit, Condon and Rhan sold their home in West Virginia and relocated here in March, in part because his war injuries made home maintenance a challenge. Condon now tools around using an upright rollator he calls his Lamborghini.

And he remains a proud Marine, so proud that he arranged for the sergeant major of the Marine Corps, Carlos A. Ruiz, to visit when a fellow Marine, Rambow, turned 100 this year. The “Lady Leatherneck,” a term used for women Marines in WWII, was a wartime sergeant and cook at Camp Lejeune.

Once a 5-mile-a-day walker, Rambow now exercises on a stationary bike. She judges the home’s food “outstanding, for an institution,” and loves not having to do dishes. She often takes in church services. “It’s a beautiful home for military people,” she concludes, “and I know most of the people feel that way.”

Norma Rambow, 100, exercises at the Armed Forces Retirement Home.

Michael A. McCoy for AARP