I served in the Army from 1969 to 1971. Most of that time was spent in Viet Nam. Because of my specialized training I served with a lot of different battalions such as the 50th APC Company, the 173rd or The Herd, as they were more commonly known, and the 9th Calvary.
My interest in the Red Cross peaked when I found out that they were doing Service to the Armed Forces. Because of my service in Viet Nam I want to help the most unappreciated veterans in America.
Red Cross gave me that vehicle to help them and any other Vets I would come in contact with.
Some of the things I do for the SAF are: attend meetings with the local VFW, The VA Services, The Soldiers Project and the International Veteran Alliance. I also attend events where veterans will gather to hand out helpful veteran information and I have marched in the Veteran’s Day parade as a Red Cross Representative of the SAF. I have also done follow-up phone calls on cases where an active service member needed to get home for an emergency.
Last but not least, I have followed up on a Veteran who needed help but was not responsive to our phone calls. When I went to his house, I found that he was not responding to phone calls because he wore two hearing aids and he could not hear the phone ringing upstairs while I was interviewing him. He only had one phone, which was upstairs, and he spent most of his time downstairs.
My feel good moments with the SAF are every time I make a solid connection with a veteran and he thanks me for my service, that’s a good feeling.
