Red Cross offers food, friendship to returning Soldiers

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Elaine Aviles
  • 39th Air Base Group Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey (AFPN) --  As they enter Incirlik’s temporary terminal, hundreds of U.S. Soldiers coming from Iraq stop by the shoppette and souvenir booths, but ultimately end up at a makeshift American Red Cross stand.

Red Cross volunteers are helping out at the terminal by providing hot beverages and baked goods to thousands of troops transiting the base during a massive troop changeover in Iraq.

Weary from the trip and a yearlong deployment in Iraq, most of the Soldiers line up at the stand for a cup of hot coffee or a handful of homemade chocolate chip cookies to kill time as they wait to board a plane home.

Others are looking for something more.

“We’ve had Soldiers sit and talk with us for hours,” said Vicky Wisnom, American Red Cross station manager. “They tell us stories about the war and their personal experiences, or talk about their families. We just let them talk because that’s what they need to do.”

Ms. Wisnom is one of the more than 100 Red Cross volunteers taking a turn at the terminal. She and many others, including Airmen, spouses and members of private organizations, staff the Red Cross booth at all hours of the day or night.

“There’s always someone at the Red Cross canteen,” Ms. Wisnom said. “We show up at 3 a.m., if necessary. Despite the hours, we get plenty of volunteers. People are eager to help out with such an important mission.”

Erin Leonard, a Red Cross volunteer, has done everything from baking cookies to sewing on patches for the Soldiers when the tailor shop is closed.

In turn, the troops are very appreciative, Ms. Leonard said.

“The Soldiers love the food, especially when they find out it’s homemade,” she said. “But many just want to talk and show pictures and videos of their families. When a video is playing, there’s not a dry eye in the hangar, including the Soldiers.”

Many conversations turn to recent experiences in Iraq.

“They talk about attacks and people from their unit who were killed or wounded, and the effect that had on morale,” Ms. Leonard said.

“Many show us pictures from the war, some very gruesome,” Ms. Wisnom said. “They’ve been through a lot.”

As a Red Cross worker, Ms. Wisnom is familiar with this type of assistance.

“Whenever there’s a natural disaster or other type of emergency, the Red Cross is there,” she said.

The base office set up a canteen for Soldiers as they reprocessed back to their home station in 2003.

Along with emergency assistance, the Red Cross office also aids in emergency communications, offers health and safety classes such as first aid and babysitting, and runs a local volunteer program.

“There are many facets to the Red Cross but this is the part of the job I enjoy most,” Ms. Wisnom said.

“The troop rotation has (energized) the entire community, as people come together to bake, help out at the canteen or gather just to applaud the troops as they enter the hangar,” she said. “We’re all very grateful for the sacrifices they’ve made and are happy to be of some assistance.” (Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe News Service)