Stand Down 2011

Coming into my summer internship with the Services to the Armed Forces (SAF) program, I had an idea of the type of work I’d be doing, but I didn’t realize the impact it would have on others. Three months later, I am very aware of how much the American Red Cross helps our servicemen, women, veterans, and their families. From assisting them before, during, and after deployments to delivering coffee, toiletries, and clothing to the Jesse Brown and Hines VA Hospitals. We also attend various military and community events informing families of the Red Cross services that are available to them, such as our emergency communication service that helps connect families in the U.S. to their loved ones servicing overseas. The Red Cross is always there.

Having the opportunity to work with, and learn from, the members and families of the armed forces, the staff at the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, the volunteers and employees of the local VA Hospitals, and other service organizations is such a blessing. They are kind, selfless, passionate, fun group of individuals who inspire me with their work everyday.

All of the events and projects I worked on have been interesting and worthwhile, the most memorable was Stand Down 2011. This event for homeless and low-income veterans was an extremely satisfying, eye-opening, and fun three days. It began with setting up in General Jones Armory, which required sweeping, mopping, setting up tables, and sorting through the clothing, food, and donated items. On day one over 700 veterans came to register, that is when I understood the importance of our pre-event preparations. Day two included free eye and medical exams, haircuts, legal, housing, and job assistance. The Red Cross also provided attendees with two hot meals, live music, and most of all a sense of camaraderie. On day three, after breakfast had been served, we handed out huge bags of supplies, which included brand new boots, shirts, socks, underwear, toiletries, bagged lunches etc. The level of appreciation and smiles on their faces was so gratifying, and I will look forward to volunteering at this event again.

While interacting with veterans and families at Stand Down and other deployment events is exciting and rewarding, there is also a lot of behind the scenes work that the Manager of Operations Support, Erin Counihan, does to be able to provide the support of the Red Cross. Many tasks have to be performed before the event, but the most challenging for me was SAF casework. Calling families that had suffered a loss or had emergencies was difficult, but when they genuinely thanked me for being a part of a network that was able to get their father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or sister home from war in a time of need, I realized the importance of the SAF program. Our current and passed service men and women and their families have made so many sacrifices for our freedom, and being able to help them in their time of need and show them our appreciation is truly a gift.

Written by: Jodie Lieffring

The Red Cross Thanks and Recognizes Our Heroes

Don’t ask me why, but growing up I was always a history junkie. I blame it all on my 4th grade teacher because after reading Number the Stars I read every historical fiction book and watched every movie about World War II. To this day, when I think of the courageous, brave, and capable soldiers who stood in the face of danger and fought in the front lines of World War II, I envision Jude Law in Enemy at the Gates or Byron Henry from Winds of War. It wasn’t until Wednesday October 20, 2010, when I met Michael C. Bilder of General George Patton’s Third Army, author of “A Foot Soldier for Patton,” that I put a new face on these heroic soldiers I had grown up reading and learning about. It was as if all the characters I had read and watched popped out and introduced themselves to me.

Mr. Bilder served with the 5th infantry Division and fought in all five of the Third Army’s campaigns; fighting in France, Luxembourg, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. While stationed in England in 1943 Mr. Bilder received training from the American Red Cross as a “combat lifeguard” in preparation of D-Day. A combat lifeguard, while wearing 60 lbs. of equipment, must jump 25 ft. into a pool covered with burning oil. Once in the water, he had to shed his helmet, rifle, and rucksack and swim 75 yards underwater. Mr. Bilder used his newly acquired skills to dive after fallen GIs, unhook their equipment, and get them back to surface. It is for this that the American Red Cross decided to award him with the Lifesaving Award for the Professional Responder; for saving numerous GIs from drowning, including those who were previously wounded.

The American Red Cross’s Lifesaving Award is not the first award Mr. Bilder has won; in fact it is just one in a pile of impressive achievements and awards from numerous countries (one from Luxembourg, France, Czech Republic, and two from the USA). However, while all the other medals he has won (apart from his first Bronze Star Medal) have been given to him because of the number of lives he took during batter, The American Red Cross’s Lifesaver Award “is the most meaningful because it represents the lives I have saved, not taken.

Finally the day had come, all my reading was done and I was on my way to meet the heroic Mr. Bilder. As I walked into his house, saw him sitting on a big green padded lazy boy chair. When I introduced myself as an intern for the Red Cross a huge smile spread across his face and he said, “The Red Cross! The Red Cross gave me my stripes. I should be honoring them, not them me.”

As the day continued I came to realize that being a soldier isn’t about being a hero or getting awards, it is about serving your country, your people, and everything you believe in. Mr. Bilder went to Europe and fought a war far from our soil because he felt it was his duty, just as soldiers are doing today in Iraq. It is our duty as Americans to not only honor them and their courageousness, but never forget the battles and struggles they have fought to protect our liberty, democracy, and country. What they have done to protect us.

As Mr. Bilder said “I have always done amazing things I suppose, but I am really just a regular Joe.”

More pictures of our visit with Mr. Bilder

We have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, and the soldiers in the armed forces is one of them. We are inviting the public, until December 10, to send a "touch of home" to the armed forces through hoilday cards; a small effort that goes a long way and impacts the hearts of our American Soldiers who can't be home with their families this holiday season. Please, get involved and send your holiday cards today:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Clara Barton Was One Brave Lady

Clara Barton was the humanitarian rock star of the 19th century. A compassionate, hard-working, visionary woman, she was a pioneer in serving members of the military and their families.

Until last night, I knew way too little about her. Like many third graders who have studied her for book reports, I knew that Barton founded the American Red Cross and cared for wounded soldiers on the battlefields of the Civil War. But while watching History Detectives on PBS, I learned that Barton was a pioneer in serving members of the military and their families during times of conflict.

Historians explained the depth of Barton’s commitment: She assisted battlefield doctors in the most gruesome conditions, bravely helping with amputations when no one else could stomach it. Single handedly, she began collecting supplies like socks and bandages for soldiers—one of her first relief efforts. She watched in horror as thousands of soldiers were buried in unmarked graves, and their families were simply left to wonder. Inspired to help, Barton began administering a list of missing soldiers, which helped families locate their loved ones or find closure. She received more than 150 letters each day from families of missing soldiers, or those who had answers.

The History Detectives episode centers on one of these letters and a single soldier and his fate. Today, local volunteers in Chicagoland educate members of the military and their spouses and parents about Red Cross services during deployment. Today, if a soldier’s family needs to alert her about a death, birth or other important news, they make a single call to the American Red Cross.

The episode is available here online. To learn more about our Red Cross services to members of the military today, and to learn how you can help, visit www.chicagoredcross.org/saf

Has the Red Cross ever helped your family? We'd love to hear about it in the comments! Or, tell us which famous lady you did book reports on as a kid :)

-Kristin Claes is a writer for the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago. She also doesn't have cable, so finding something worth watching on PBS made her day.

What I didn't know...

In honor of my 5th month here at the Red Cross, I wanted to share with you 5 things that I didn’t know about the Red Cross before I started working here. Hopefully, I have included some things that you may not have known.

1. The American Red Cross has been around since 1881, making the organization 129 years old!

2. A very important figure in the history of the Red Cross is Henry Dunant. His book A Memory of Solferino inspired the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1963. The ICRC is an independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of war and other situations of violence.

3. The American Red Cross Services to the Armed Forces operates an around the clock world wide communication service, allowing the family members of service men and women to reach their deployed relative in case of an emergency.

4. Our Chapter has an Auxiliary Board and Society, comprised of young active professionals that organize fundraising events and support the Greater Chicago Red Cross.

5. The Red Cross has a “Safe and Well” website where individuals who have been affected by a disaster can register as “safe and well”. This site notifies their family and friends of their well being.


Submitted by Rachael Garcia, Resource Development