When Staff Sgt. James Bialota went through basic training in 2002, the U.S. Air Force spent six and a half weeks transforming him from a college-age civilian into a member of the U.S. military.

Four and a half years later, after a tour of duty in Iraq and a back injury, Bialota, 28, will leave the Air Force in October with a medical discharge and a three-day crash course on how to become a civilian again.

The Transition Assistance Program is a little like a mini-boot camp in reverse. It is designed to make the transition from military life to civilian employment as successful as possible. For the 25 to 30 servicemen and women who participate in TAP each month at Ellsworth Air Force Base, the workshops provide valuable information on surviving in the civilian culture and making the most of the military benefits they’ve earned by serving their country. 

The 76-year-old woman hopes her finished products chase away the chills for homeless veterans as well.

Earlier this year, Troutman, who has lived with her husband in the same house in Mustang for 42 years, heard about a homeless veteran who died.

She decided her quilt-making hobby had a new purpose.

PITTSBURGH - A pair of combat boots. A wristband woven from boot laces with several bullets dangling. A photo of black servicemen standing outside a makeshift African temple.

The items are part of "Soul Soldiers: African Americans and the Vietnam Era," a new exhibit at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center that examines the black experience in Vietnam in the context of the era's domestic social fabric.

Samuel W. Black, curator of the center's African American Collections, conceived the exhibit, in part because his older brother, Jimmy McNeil, served two years in Vietnam.

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - Nearly 500 survivors of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor were here Thursday to honor those who died in the surprise attack 65 years ago.

Many veterans were treating the gathering as their last, uncertain whether they would be alive or healthy enough to travel to Hawaii for the next big memoria, the 70th anniversary, in five years.

"Sixty-five years later, there's not too many of us left," said Don Stratton, a seaman 1st class who was aboard the USS Arizona on Dec. 7, 1941. "In another five years I'll be 89. The good Lord willing, I might be able to make it. If so, I'll probably be here. I might not even be around. Who knows. Only the good Lord knows."

HONOLULU - Sixty-five years ago, Takeshi Maeda and John Rauschkolb tried to kill each other at Pearl Harbor. This week, now both 85, they met face-to-face for the first time and shook hands.

The Japanese veteran gripped Rauschkolb's arm with his left hand and briefly hesitated, as if he was searching for the right words. Then he said, "I'm sorry."

On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese Imperial Navy navigator Maeda guided his Kate bomber to Pearl Harbor and fired a torpedo that helped sink the USS West Virginia.

As military veterans who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor gather in Honolulu for what many describe as their last hurrah, a younger generation stands ready to carry on their legacy and preserve the memory of the thousands who perished on that infamous day.

"This is a very key point in our history, where the Pearl Harbor survivors are in their mid-80s and older and our responsibilities of carrying their mission forward becomes even more critical," said Lee Sandefer, 68, the national president of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors.

The Tuskegee Airmen, those most unsung of heroes of World War II, are finally getting what they deserve.

In recognition of their selfless sacrifice to a country that refused believed in them before they went into combat, the 99th Pursuit Group, 332nd Fighter Group and 477th Bomber Group will be presented with the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007.

Retired Capt. Luther H. Smith, president of the Greater Philadelphia chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, says although information is trickling in, the news is all good.

"We have no direct information as of right now," said Smith, of the exact date of the ceremony "but we do know that (President) Bush signed legislation regarding the medal on April 11. 

U.S. researchers say they've determined dioxin, the toxin contained in the Vietnam-era herbicide Agent Orange, limits the growth of the prostate gland.

The Air Force Health Study shows the toxin might suppress male hormones, causing infertility and decreased bone and muscle mass, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that nearly 15 percent of veterans aged 20-24 were jobless in July 2005 - three times the national average. The unemployment rate of non-veterans in the same age category was just under eight percent.

Twenty-four year old Lee French is a veteran without a job. French received a baccalaureate degree in history from Carnegie Mellon University and spent a year in Kuwait, serving as a shipping supervisor.

French said when he returned to the United States, he struggled to locate career opportunities that put his military experience to use. "I interviewed with a shipping company and they saw my resume online and they e-mailed me and they asked me to come in and once I showed up, I guess the guy was surprised that I was so young. He told me he would call me back, but I haven't heard from him," he said.

WASHINGTON - Military service, particularly in the Gulf War, may be linked to development of Lou Gehrig's disease, the Institute of Medicine said Friday.

The evidence, however, is limited and inconsistent, the Institute said.

The degenerative nerve disease, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, gradually destroys the ability to control movement. Patients lose their ability to move or speak, but their minds remain unaffected. Most victims die of respiratory failure within a few years.