The Red Cross works with the military to deliver messages and get service members home to their loved ones.

Picture if you will, a young soldier, away from home for the first time. His wife has just given birth to their second child- another beautiful boy. While there were no complications during his wife’s delivery, a minor situation, causing a significant breach in the health of this young soldier’s newborn son, was detected just moments after his birth.

Knowing that the American Red Cross provides connections during emergencies to military personnel, the soldier’s mother-in-law phoned her local Red Cross and requested her son-in-law call home immediately. As this young man was stationed in Korea, a long long way from his home in Warren County, he used a phone card that had been sent to him by a friend. While he was glad to learn of his son’s arrival, he was worried about his health, so he spoke with his First Sergeant and discussed the possibility of taking emergency leave. Within 24 hours, the young soldier had been granted leave, and was already off on his journey home to investigate the well-being of his family thanks to the connection made by the Red Cross.

Ordinarily that would be the end of it, but there’s more.

During the first leg of his journey, the serviceman approached the gate in the airport at Seoul, Korea. After airfare complications, some maneuvering, and amidst some confusion at the gate, he was given a boarding pass and sent stateside. Upon arrival in San Francisco, he approached the ticket counter to simply confirm his return date. It was then that the soldier was informed there was no record of his itinerary. Before he even made it all the way home, before he got to see his wife and newborn baby, before he got to sleep in his own bed, the soldier already had to worry about how he was going to get back.

And that’s when I got involved. The serviceman contacted the St. Louis Area Red Cross 26 hours before his leave was scheduled to end, stating he needed assistance returning to his duty station. I worked with the Military Aid Society Referral Unit to secure the soldier’s one-way ticket back to his duty station. We were even able to assist the serviceman with additional funds to help support his family which included his now healthy newborn.

This holiday season, you can help one military family connect during an emergency for just $75. Being separated from family is hard, especially in times of emergency. But the Red Cross works with the military to deliver messages and get service members home to their loved ones. Your gift can help the Red Cross provide one family the ability to make a vital and timely connection between loved ones to convey the loss of a beloved grandparent, joy of a birth, or other family emergencies. To Purchase a Connection During Emergency, visit the Holiday Giving Catalog today.  

Courtney

Courtney Hinton is the Client Services and Services to the Armed Forces Specialist for the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter.