TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Jim Sullivan is weak from his ongoing battle with breast and lung cancer. But that does not stop the war veteran from getting up early six days a week, hopping a bus and volunteering for the Tucson Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Sullivan gets off the bus at 10 the mornings he works, and, for the next four hours, he assists patients, moves equipment - anything that the staff asks, he does.

When not running around at the VA Medical Center, he sits next to the phone and the coffee machine.

"That's his favorite seat," says fellow volunteer Allan Gordon, the escort dispatcher who answers phone calls.

It's a pleasant atmosphere in the office where Sullivan, a widower, settles in. On a recent day, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and homemade chocolate brownies brought by a volunteer lingers in the air while they talk among themselves about their day.

Not a bad place to spend a morning.

"Jim is a good guy," says Gordon.

"When he volunteers, he has something to do, he doesn't have to stay home all day, and it gives him a place to go."

For Sullivan, who turned 77 in October, it goes beyond having something to do.

"I love being able to help people and having them appreciate what I do for them," he says.

"A large percentage of volunteers are veterans and military family members," says Deborah M. Brookshire, program manager of Voluntary Services. Sullivan is one of 1,361 volunteers at the VA hospital.

"Jim Sullivan is what we call a mature volunteer. The younger generation don't spend the amount of time volunteering like Mr. Sullivan does," Brookshire says. "He has gone through rough times, but he still manages to give his time and energy to help others."

Sullivan has completed about 8,300 hours over the past six years, and in 2006 he was awarded the Presidential Lifetime Award for completing 4,000 hours.

Sullivan grew up in San Francisco and joined the Army in 1949. After fighting in the Korean War, he moved to Japan, where he married and remained for nine years. The couple later moved to the United States.

During the Vietnam War he worked in communications and electronics.

"I drove around ammunition trucks and got around the country in C-130s (a military transport plane)," says Sullivan. "I loved my job - it was interesting and exciting."

He retired from the Army in 1971 as a first sergeant.

In 1980, the VA hospital in Martinez, Calif., sent Sullivan to the hospital here for treatment of his alcoholism. He was told to volunteer as part of his rehab program. Moving around and meeting people would help him fight his addiction. He found the work to his liking - he officially joined the volunteer organization six years ago.

"Staying busy keeps you out of trouble," says Sullivan.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, Sullivan soon learned he had lung cancer. He recently finished radiation treatment at University Medical Center.

In spite of his illness, Sullivan has worked hard to be at the VA hospital every day.

"He is very dedicated," Brookshire says. "For him it's a way of life."

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Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com

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