Jerilyn Brusseau of Bainbridge Island has won an AARP Purpose Prize for her work with PeaceTrees Vietnam.
The national award celebrates people 50-plus who use their knowledge and life experience to solve tough social problems.
Brusseau co-founded PeaceTrees Vietnam in 1995 with her late husband, Danaan Parry, as the first international organization permitted to sponsor humanitarian demining efforts in Vietnam. The organization, headquartered in Seattle and Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam, creates a safe and successful future for children and families endangered by the legacy of the Vietnam War.
“PeaceTrees Vietnam is deeply honored by AARP’s recognition of our twenty-five years working alongside the people of Vietnam, to honor losses on all sides of war, to build strong bridges of trust and understanding, through sponsoring clearance of landmines and unexploded ordnance in Vietnam’s most war torn province,” Brusseau said.
“Every day for twenty-five years, PeaceTrees has worked in the most heavily bombed areas of Vietnam to safely clear thousands of deadly unexploded munitions remaining from war, support accident survivors, restore communities, strengthen education and economic development, and build strong bonds of trust and friendship between American and Vietnamese veterans and families,” she said.
“As a Gold Star sister of Lieutenant Daniel Cheney, U.S. Army helicopter pilot who was shot down and killed while saving the life of his fellow pilot in the Vietnam War, it is my distinct honor to work with the Vietnamese people to ‘turn sorrow into service,’ transforming once adversarial relationships into trusted partners and allies and transforming the legacy of war into a future of safety, well-being, peace and collaboration for our children, grandchildren and generations to come,” Brusseau said.
“We’re grateful to AARP for this extraordinary opportunity to engage with an even broader coalition of Vietnam era veterans, veterans of all U.S. military service, Gold Star families and individuals of all ages who wish to participate in our mission of healing of ‘what once seemed impossible’ and creating a safe and brighter future for children and families of Central Vietnam,” she said.
The honorees were to be recognized at a virtual awards celebration Dec. 3.
