Volunteering for the American Red Cross Makes One Volunteer's Heart Flutter

by Heather Wedel, Communications Specialist, American Red Cross North Texas Region

American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces volunteer, Julie McDaniel says volunteering at the Tyler, TX veterans home is where she is meant to be. 

Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) includes linking military families during times of emergency, connecting families with local community resources, providing resiliency training and supporting wounded warriors and military hospitals.

After suffering a stroke, McDaniel, a mother of four, had to accept the fact that she was going to have to find a new normal. With her kids fully grown and her husband retired, she was looking for something fulfilling. Her husband, who is a member of the Patriot Guard Riders, a motorcycle group that travels to various events to honor fallen military heroes, first responders and honorably discharged veterans, inspired Julie to think, "Why golly, why can't I do something?"

McDaniel started volunteering with the Red Cross East Texas Piney Woods Chapter in June 2013 and wasn't sure what she would be able to provide for her community. She figured that she would be wonderful as an office volunteer, which she does every Friday at the chapter. Yet, when she saw an opportunity to volunteer at the veterans home, she knew she had found her place. 

"When I saw that volunteers were needed at the veterans home, my heart just kept beating," said McDaniel. "I couldn't help but think 'Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh.' I didn't know what was involved in the opportunity, I just knew that I wanted to be there."

The veterans home in Tyler, TX opened in 2012, and the partnership with the Red Cross was new when Julie joined the volunteer team. The Red Cross was assigned Cottage D at the veterans home which housed ten veterans, two of which are bedridden, one capable of walking and the rest in wheelchairs. 

"When I first walked in, I had nothing to go on, it was a blank canvas. I immediately fell in love with the guys, the staff and the concept. It was a twofer, I work with veterans that I greatly care about, and I work with the Red Cross which I also greatly care for."

McDaniel's role at Cottage D of the veterans home quickly turned into a type of activity's director role. With her cottage not being so mobile, she focuses on trying to motivate them to do things that are fun. McDaniel says she loves hosting parties for the vets; everything from Super bowl parties to decorating sugar cookies at Christmas. 

"I've never seen grown men have so much fun doing something so simple," said McDaniel. "We're family now, we celebrate their birthdays and I take cake and balloons. We even had a sweet heart dinner for their spouses and significant others on Valentine's Day." 

In the next couple of months, McDaniel plans to help build a raised vegetable garden for the veterans. She says that the garden will help get the less mobile veterans outside, and will give them the chance to feel like they have ownership of something. 

After volunteering at the Veteran's home for less than a year, McDaniel says that she's learned more about the wars now than she ever learned in movies or in school. 

"My guys are from all over, some were in World War II, the Korean War and the Afghan War. When they tell their stories, some with tears in their eyes, their posture changes, they sit up straight as if they almost want to salute you," said McDaniel. 

"Mr. Barker, the first vet to approach me when I started at the home asked me if I wanted to see a book in his room. He brought out a book, almost like a high school yearbook but instead a book full of documents and images of the ship he was on during the war," she explained. "He took me picture by picture, and I knew that this is something I wanted to be a part of. Mr. Barker took me under his wing to welcome me, he is my hunny bunny and I will be forever indebted to him."

McDaniel said that when she first started looking for volunteer opportunities at the Red Cross she was afraid that she wouldn't be accepted because of her stroke, or that she wouldn't find the right place to serve. Her mindset soon changed when she got involved.

"Under the Red Cross umbrella, there are so many opportunities for people. If you're interested in the military aspect, you can do SAF. If you're interested in disaster, you can join the Disaster Action Team (DAT). They have a place for everyone. It doesn't matter who you are - that is it, they just accept you. I didn't know if I was going to get involved but I learned that if you give a little, you'll get so much more in return," marveled McDaniel.

"Oh, and the people!" exclaimed McDaniel. "The people, the staff and the volunteers, they're like family now. I have never encountered such a group of people that are so dedicated and focused on their cause and the purpose of the Red Cross. It doesn't matter which group of people I'm speaking about, they all amaze me."

Last week was National Volunteer Week, and we continue to salute volunteers like Julie year-round. Volunteers make up more than 90 percent of the Red Cross and are the reason we can work toward our mission every day. To join Julie in Service to the Armed Forces or to learn about other volunteer opportunities, visit redcross.org to start your Red Cross story today. 

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Fond of War Stories? Help Us Help the Veterans History Project

by Kay Pinkerton, volunteer contributor

Through the Veterans History Project (VHP), the American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) invites you to listen to the stories of war.  

Straight from the warriors’ mouths. 

VHP is part of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center.  It was created by the U.S. Congress, in 2000, as an oral history archive that collects and preserves first-hand interviews of America's wartime veterans.  

The North Texas SAF team has now joined the Red Cross nationwide effort to recruit and train VHP interviewers to collect these stories.  Spearheading the Red Cross local initiative is David Barton, VHP volunteer coordinator for the American Red Cross North Texas region. 

“The Library of Congress approached us to help find people who were willing to go out and conduct interviews,” said Barton. “Our team has interviewed a number of veterans, including many who volunteer for the Red Cross.  I’ve logged, I think, ten interviews since starting this.”

Barton said a growing number of local veterans have expressed an interest in sharing their stories.  Due to the project’s popularity, his team is seeking to recruit and train more interviewers.

The Veteran’s History Project’s stated goal is to record 100,000 stories.  The Red Cross is committed to helping the organization surpass that goal.

In addition to audio- and video-recorded interviews, VHP accepts original photographs and letters, diaries, maps, memoirs, and other historical documents from World War I through current conflicts. The result is a priceless, historical archive of first-person interviews that will benefit present and future generations. 

Brown Eyes Blue

When asked about a favorite interview, Barton recalled his meeting with Dr. Jim Nicholson. 
Dr. Nicholson is a physician who lives in Greenville, Texas.  In 2011, he was awarded the Silver Star medal for gallantry in action while serving as a Korean War marine infantryman. 

Sixty years ago. 

Nicholson was part of a four-man rifle team.  His primary job was to operate the deadly Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) portable machine gun.  Called “Nick the BAR-man” by his George Company, 3rd Battalion 7th Regiment buddies, Nicholson was reportedly outstanding at his job. 

The marines’ objective was to push back Communist North Korean and Chinese forces, thereby preventing them from forcing Communist rule upon the whole country.  

Deployed to Korea in early 1951, Nicholson saw action ranging from Operations Killer and Ripper, which were geared to destroy the Chinese Communist People’s Volunteer Army, to the infamous Punchbowl, located in Korea’s Gangwon Province.  It was there Nicholson received a tour-ending shrapnel wound. 

Dr. Nicholson published a book, which chronicled his wartime experiences, titled George - 3 - 7th Marines: A Brief Glimpse Through Time of a Group of Young Marines.  Barton read the book before his scheduled interview with Nicholson. 

 “The things he and his buddies went through.  It’s a miracle he emerged alive,” said Barton.  
He was especially intrigued about a passage in the book recounting cold-war battle in the midst of North Korea’s frigid climate. 

“The Chinese soldiers were wearing these quilted outfits,” said Barton about the book’s passage. “Whether from perspiration or a bleeding wound, the moisture – mixed with the cold - would freeze the soldiers’ uniforms.  They were so frozen, in fact, their bodies couldn’t move.  But their eyes could.  So with their brown eyes, the frozen Chinese soldiers would communicate to the marines’ blue eyes.  And the blue eyes would reply to the brown eyes.”

No words were spoken. Or needed. 

“Dr. Nicholson’s recollection of that event seemed almost poetic.  So I marked the passage and brought the book with me,” said Barton.  “When the doctor reached that point of the war in his interview, I stopped him.  ‘Dr. Nicholson,’ I said. ‘You spoke about this experience in your book…about these Chinese guys being so frozen, they could only move their eyes.  Would you mind reading it for me?’”

Barton handed the book to the doctor.  When Nicholson finished reading the passage, Barton said, “I’ve read the only way you can kill in warfare is by dehumanizing.”

The doctor nodded. 

 “So how do you account for this?,” asked Barton, pointing to the book’s passage.  “This is so intimately personal.”

“That’s a really good question,” the self-described country doctor replied.  He paused a moment.  

“I can compartmentalize.”

Volunteer or Share Your Story

Red Cross volunteer services to U.S. veterans date back to World War I and are consistent with the mission of its congressional charter. Red Cross support for the VHP demonstrates our commitment to veterans and to the historical importance of their recorded experiences.  

If you have a story to tell or know someone who does, please call 214-678-4800. Volunteers are also needed to capture the stories. Visit RedCross.org for more information.

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Photos: Veterans Day Parade 11/11/11

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Service To The Armed Forces Supports Military Members And Their Families

The American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) provides important support to members of the United States military, help that includes financial assistance, counseling and a commitment to support our veterans - the sick and disabled men and women who have served our country through the Armed Forces.

But perhaps the most important support SAF provides is emergency communications to link members of the military with their families back home. SAF provides that vital link between families and their member of the military 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, no matter where in the world service members are stationed.

Ohio mother Angela Blair learned how important the SAF emergency communications program is when her son, Chad, was stationed overseas in 2009 and there was a death in the family. She contacted her local Red Cross chapter, the Hancock County Chapter in Findlay, Ohio, about the possibility of getting Chad home to be with his family. Angela reports she made that call on a Thursday and Chad was home Sunday night.

The military mom later began to learn all she could about the Red Cross SAF program and found it very helpful to her during Chad’s time overseas. Since then she has become an SAF volunteer and recently completed training to become a volunteer caseworker for the program.

Red Cross emergency communications services keep military personnel in touch with their families following the death or serious illness of an immediate family member, the birth of a service member's child or grandchild or when a family experiences other emergencies. Red Cross-verified information assists commanding officers in making a decision regarding emergency leave. Without this verification, the service member may not be able to come home during a family emergency.

“My Red Cross friends helped me through this latest situation with Chad,” Angela said. “I would encourage everyone who is going through the same life event I did to give the SAF program a try. It is so helpful, especially during a deployment.”

“It’s very important to educate yourself about what help and information is available,” she continued. “Service to the Armed Forces can help family members and new members of the armed forces with that. Taking the orientation is even beneficial for parents whose child is considering joining the military.”

Chad has just returned stateside from Afghanistan. Since his first deployment in 2009, he has been injured three times and received just as many Purple Hearts, the award presented to members of the armed forces who are wounded by an instrument of war at the hands of the enemy.

“My son asked if I would keep on going with my SAF volunteering when his time with the military is over and I told him I will do it for as long as I can,” Angela said. “It’s important for people to have a place to go to get an education about what help is available when someone is in the military.”

While providing service to 1.4 million active duty military personnel and their families, the Red Cross also reaches out to more than 1.2 million members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families living in nearly every community in America.

For more information on Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces, contact the American Red Cross-Dallas Area Chapter at 214-678-4800 or visit www.redcross.org.

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