Matthew Simmons, who served in the 1991 Desert Storm offensive in Iraq, is photographed in one of the parrots enclosures at the Serenity Park Sanctuary at the Veterans Affairs' headquarters in the Westwood section of Los Angeles June 1, 2007. Rescued and abused parrots are helping the veterans turn their lives around in a unique program launched officially on Thursday1 at a Los Angeles Veterans Affairs facility. The parrots -- which sometimes pluck their own feathers when stressed out after years in cramped cages or abandoned by owners -- are thriving too in what organizers say is an exercise in mutual healing. To match feature PARROTS VETERANS. Picture taken June 1, 2007. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES)