The Veteran Muster: All Present and Accounted For is a veterans-only gathering founded by Evan Shelline, the Navy SEAL veteran who chairs Lily Hospice’s Veteran Advisory Committee, and organized by VETTED Veteran Care in senior living communities across Southeast Michigan.
What a Muster is
In the military, a muster is when everyone falls in and is accounted for. The Veteran Muster carries that tradition forward: 60 to 90 minutes of camaraderie, remembrance, storytelling and Buddy Checks among veterans who understand what it means to serve. The group honors the fallen, remembers those still missing, and makes sure no veteran feels forgotten. No one is required to speak or to share anything.
Every veteran is welcome, regardless of branch, era or type of service, stateside or overseas, peacetime or wartime. Veterans do not need to live at the hosting community. There is no charge to attend or to host.
Why it matters to a hospice
Many of the veterans Lily cares for served in Korea and Vietnam and are now among our nation’s oldest Veterans. Some have carried their experiences for decades without sharing them; others simply miss the camaraderie that came with serving. A veteran who has been quiet for fifty years often says more to a fellow veteran in an hour than to anyone else in a decade. The Muster is where that conversation starts, and it is the same thinking behind our veteran-to-veteran visits and the question we ask at the first visit: “Did you ever serve?”
“I’m talking to him about things that he hasn’t talked to his family about. That peer-to-peer support is vital.”
Evan Shelline on Veterans Radio, October 2026.
What the Muster is not
It is not a counseling session, a clinical program, a benefits appointment or a sales presentation. No veteran is asked to discuss personal experiences, disclose medical information or receive services from anyone. A veteran in immediate crisis can dial 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line, which answers 24 hours a day.
Host a Muster at your community
A senior living community provides a comfortable room and helps invite its veterans, including those who may be isolated or reluctant to come. VETTED Veteran Care organizes and facilitates the gathering, and encourages the veterans to keep checking on one another between Musters. To discuss hosting, call 248-794-9292 or email evan@vettedvc.com.
Hear the Muster
Evan describes a gathering in his own words on Medium: What Happens at a Veteran Muster. The Buddy Check, in 71 seconds: watch the video.
Evan hosts a short podcast built on these conversations, The Veteran Muster with Evan Shelline, at theveteranmuster.netlify.app, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
Read more about Chairman Evan Shelline and the Veteran Advisory Committee. If someone you love served and is seriously ill, call Lily any hour at (248) 955-5100. Hospice isn’t giving up. It’s showing up.
The Veteran Muster is an independent veteran fellowship initiative organized by VETTED Veteran Care. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.