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Instead, Heather Stapleton decided to stay on, even extending her tour of duty in West Africa to three years. She spoke with Janie Gould as part of Gould's series on the Peace Corps, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year.

Muriel Johnston, 86, of Sebastian served two years in a Moroccan village, teaching children about hygiene. She says she'd love to go back for a visit.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Peace Corps was invited to serve in new republics in Russia and former Soviet bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Frank Macner, a financial consultant from Jensen Beach, was surprised at what he found.

Millie Hendrick, now 92, served in Panama, and her daughter, Bunny Frey, helped start a kindergarten in Peru. That was in the 1960s. Both women have continued Peace Corps-style service by aiding an orphanage in Honduras run by the Episcopal Church.

Tim Krieger, now of Port St. Lucie, served in the mid1960s and later worked with other aid groups all over the world.

After much effort, Mike Bergen became proficient enough in Spanish to teach math to Colombian teachers, in Spanish.

Rob Andrews, of Jensen Beach, says working in Kenya was good preparation for his later service in Sudan, which was ravaged by civil war and famine.

Mike Phelan had had his appendix removed years earlier, which was one of the reasons he was selected to "go remote" in 1972. Medical care was two days away, in Kabul.