Vietnam veteran honored by Red Cross for giving "Vittles for Vets"

Vietnam veteran who feeds fellow veterans named 2019 Red Cross Military Hero

WSLS NBC 10 News
Lindsey Ward
March 19, 2019

Our 2019 Red Cross Military Hero is a Vietnam veteran now helping other vets with one of life's basics: food.

You could say Bill McCann is surrounded by veterans.

When he's at home he helps his 95-year-old father-in-law who fought in World War II, pass the time with a puzzle.

But when McCann's out and about he's most likely volunteering with his nonprofit, Vittles for Vets.

“What we do is we issue $50 food gift cards to veterans who qualify for the program and to qualify you must be other than dishonorably discharged, you must be alcohol - and drug-free, and you must be living at or below federal guidelines for poverty,” McCann, he Red Cross Military Hero Award honoree, said.

Giving out these gift cards to veterans stemmed from a conversation with a homeless vet back in 2014.

“I took him to lunch in the cafeteria at the VA, gave him a $50 gift card to a supermarket and this big guy grabbed my hand and started crying and that was the very second Vittles for Vets was born,” McCann said.

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Yukon Oklahoma Opens Arms for Wounded Veteran's Family

Volunteers Help Make Veteran's Family's Christmas
News On 6
Caleigh Bourgeois
December 23, 2017

“The feeling you get when you get to help somebody else that's in need is just a feeling everybody should experience,” Wade said. 

YUKON, Oklahoma -

A wounded warrior in Yukon and his family were given a Christmas miracle thanks to two friends and several volunteers.

Last week, Jessica Smith with the Red Cross received a phone call from a wounded warrior’s wife.

“He had just lost his job. They had no food in their cupboards. They were about to be evicted,” Smith said.

Determined to help the Yukon family, Smith called up her friend Ellie Wade, who works at First United Bank. 

“We have a fund where if we wear blue jeans on Friday we pay into it, and we collect all year long,” Wade said.

Wade and Smith took the money from that fund and started shopping. 

“We just started buying and paying the rent and utilities, and buying groceries and gifts,” Wade said. 

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Vietnam War Donut Dollie Remembered

Brookfield honors Vietnam War Donut Dollie who never came home

State Route 7 in Brookfield was named after Ginny Kirsch, who died in Vietnam in 1970 while serving as a Donut Dollie 
WKBN News Ohio
By Tyler Trill 
Published: July 30, 2017

BROOKFIELD, Ohio (WKBN) – State Route 7 in Brookfield was named after a local Donut Dollie on Sunday who never made it home from the Vietnam War.

During the war, the American Red Cross sent groups of women overseas called Donut Dollies. They would serve coffee and doughnuts, as well as participate in other programs, to boost the morale of the soldiers.

Brookfield High School graduate Ginny Kirsch was a Dollie in 1970 — and she was honored Sunday.

“It means the world to the Kirsch family to have all of you here today,” Ginny’s sister Ann Kirsch-Keag said.

The Kirsch family and dozens of people recited what they call Ginny’s Prayer on Brookfield’s center green.

Four of Ginny sisters shared stories of the Vietnam veteran.

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Vietnam Veteran Remembers Donut Dollie

Soldier remembers a 'Donut Dollie'
The Dispatch
June 4, 2106

"I came home from Vietnam on Jan. 22, 1971. Every year on Memorial Day I pause to remember several names of those I knew who will be “forever young.” Hannah’s name is one of those names." Vietnam Veteran Doug Rowe

Editor: In June 1969, I was a young Army soldier in Vietnam. Late in the summer a group of young ladies arrived in our unit. These young ladies were Red Cross “Donut Dollies.” Any war vet will recognize this title because Red Cross Donut Dollies have served soldiers in all wars since World War I including 627 who served during the Vietnam War. These young ladies went to Vietnam to give a year of their life to “bring home” to young soldiers like me.
I quickly struck up a conversation with one of the young ladies who came to visit us that day in the summer of ’69. One of the first questions she asked me was, “Where are you from?” When I told her I was from Lexington, N.C., her face lit up and with a measure of disbelief she told me that she was from Thomasville. Hannah and I made an instant connection, and although she was there to lift the spirits of all the men in our unit she spent her time exclusively with me. When Hannah left our unit we expressed hope that we would see each other again “back home.”
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Green Beret Records Challenged After Volunteering Award

Red Cross volunteer's story challenged by Vietnam Veterans groups, individuals
Tulsa World
By Rita Sherrow
World Scene Writer
February 2, 2016

Vietnam War veteran John Smith, leaning next to the Disaster Relief vehicle he staffed during one of the California wildfires, pays it forward as a volunteer with the Tulsa chapter of the American Red Cross. After being lost in a Vietnam jungle for almost three months, it was the Red Cross that helped him let his family know he was alive.
JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World

A Tulsa World story that profiled a Red Cross volunteer in October brought numerous questions and protests from Vietnam veteran military groups.

John Smith, a Red Cross volunteer who was nominated for an award with the Tulsa Area United Way, identified himself as a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran who served more than 20 years in military service.

The veterans group Green Beret Posers Exposed and others immediately challenged Smith’s story.

The Tulsa World has tried repeatedly since October to talk to Smith, advising him the story was being challenged and to verify his military record. He claimed health issues and other reasons for not answering repeated requests for another interview.

Green Beret Posers Exposed has supplied the Tulsa World with military documents, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, that indicate Smith was never in Special Forces and only served in the military for a limited time (U.S. Army 1970-1972 and U.S. Navy 1974-1975). Additionally, records show Smith receiving medals for serving in Vietnam, although he was never a Green Beret or member of the Special Forces.
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Vietnam War veteran gives back to Red Cross that helped him in his time of need

Long Island Steps Up For National Guardsman After Fire

LONG ISLAND TOWN RALLIES TO HELP AFGHANISTAN WAR VETERAN AFTER HOME CATCHES ON FIRE
ABC News WABC New York
Kristin Thorne
July 5, 2014

CENTRAL ISLIP (WABC) -- When Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Brian Fox returned from Afghanistan in 2009, he gave himself a mission - to buy a house.

Unfortunately a fire swept through the second floor of his prized Central Islip home, taking all of the furniture and clothes with it.

"You work hard to get a house, and in a blink of an eye, everything is gone," said Sgt. Fox.

Most importantly, Fox's two daughters, wife and granddaughter made it all out.

"I ran down as fast as I could screaming 'fire!' and I went to the phone and dialed 911," said Sgt. Fox's daughter, Victoria.

There is no word yet on what started the fire, but for now, the family is staying at a hotel through the Red Cross. On Monday, Sgt. Fox is going to pick out a new trailer.
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Remembering Nancy Malloy

There are average people all over the world, doing whatever they can to make lives better. As the saying goes, "and the world is better for them having lived." They don't have a PR campaign and don't do photo shoots very well. They don't mind getting dirty, enduring hardships the rest of us would complain about too easily. They don't mind suffering because at the end of the day, they know they made a difference. No matter how small it may seem to some, they changed someone's life and it was all worth it.

I was just sent a link to the story of a nurse killed while serving with the Red Cross out of Canada. Nancy Malloy was just such a person.

Remembering Nancy Malloy
Canada Museum of Health Care
by Museum of Health Care
Posted on December 16, 2011

Nancy worked with the Canadian Red Cross for nine years, completing missions in Ethiopia (1990), Kuwait (1991), Belgrade (1993), and Zaire (1995) before arriving in Chechnya in 1996. Acting as medical and hospital administrator on these missions, among other titles, Malloy played a key role in facilitating the provision of medical care in areas rife with warfare and violence.

With a freshly signed peace treaty between Russia and Chechnya, Chechnya remained fraught with tension after two years of warfare when Nancy Malloy arrived at the hospital at Novye Atagi, approximately twenty-five kilometers south of the capital of Grozny. Aid workers lived in an almost constant state of stress, as the political situation remained uncertain.

Early in the morning of 17 December 1996 a group of armed men entered the hospital compound at Novye Atagi and made their way into the sleeping quarters of the international workers, where they shot and killed six Red Cross workers and wounded a seventh before fleeing. Nancy Malloy of Canada, Ingeborg Foss and Gunnhild Myklebust of Norway, Sheryl Thayer of New Zealand, Fernanda Calado of Spain, and Hans Elkerbout of the Netherlands died. Christophe Hensch, of Switzerland, recovered from his wounds. The Red Cross withdrew its remaining international workers from the hospital shortly thereafter.
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Red Cross Gary Lady volunteered over 7,000 hours

Paying it Forward: A Gray Lady with the Red Cross
Personal tragedy leads Williamstown woman to help others at MMH
Marietta Times
By Erin E. O’Neill
October 21, 2013

The local chapter of the Gray Ladies organization was formed March 2, 1952 by Harriet Follett.

The Gray Lady service, a Red Cross volunteer women's organization, started in 1918 at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. Female volunteers acted as hostesses and provided recreational services to patients, most of whom had been injured during World War I.

Pat Thrash of Williamstown began her service as a Gray Lady with the Red Cross in 1979, where she logged 472 volunteer hours. When the volunteer program at Marietta Memorial Hospital was started in 1982, the Gray Ladies were welcomed in and trained to help patients.

Currently, Pat is one of only three Gray Ladies who still remain at the hospital and they are known by the distinctive uniforms they wear.

"As of last year, Pat has 7,757 hours as a volunteer with us," said Anna Vukovic, director of volunteer services. "She has worked in the surgical waiting area, the cancer center and right now she is helping in outpatient registration. She is very flexible and is just one of those people who is a pillar in the organization."
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National Guard soldier surprises family at New Orleans Saints game

Soldier makes triumphant return to family before New Orleans Saints game
11/11/12
Terrance Harris
NOLA.com
The Times-Picayune

Brandon Davis has the earned the reputation among his family as not being able to keep a secret. But the Louisiana National Guard specialist kept a big one from his family this week, remaining cooped up in a New Orleans hotel just minutes away since Wednesday while his family thought he was still on active duty in Afghanistan.

The Davis family is completely surprised to their husband and dad return for war to celebrate the birth of their new child and celebrate Veteran's Day at the Superdome in New Orleans, Sunday November 11, 2012.
(Photo by David Grunfeld, Nola.com |The Times-Picayune)

Meanwhile, his family, including his wife, Leslie and four of his five children, were invited to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to receive what they thought was a community service award from the American Red Cross in Davis' honor prior to Sunday's New Orleans Saints-Atlanta Falcons game.

After the family was presented with the plaque and a short video message from Davis to his family, Davis said "I can't wait any longer" and burst through a tunnel and made his way to his stunned family standing at the 50-yard line.
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Red Cross filling backpacks to help veterans

Evansville's Red Cross filling backpacks to help veterans
By Richard Gootee
Posted October 28, 2012

EVANSVILLE — The Evansville-Wabash Valley chapter of the American Red Cross again is asking for the public's help for homeless and low-income veterans in honor of Veterans Day through the group's annual "Totes for Hope" campaign."At any given point in time there are nearly 400 veterans (in the area) who are homeless or on the verge of becoming homeless. That is just a heartbreaking number," said Julie Krizen, a Red Cross spokeswoman. "So this is just a way the community can give back (and) help out our veterans who have given so much."

This is the fourth year for the drive. This year's goal is to provide up to 600 veterans with containers full of necessities and other items, which will be distributed at the Evansville Vet Center and the city's Veterans Affairs clinic on Nov. 9. Last week, employees from Vectren Corp. donated 1,200 totes — enough to supply the campaign for two years.
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Letters home from Vietnam saved to be shared

Meagan Mills: Resident shares family wartime letters
By Meagan Mills
October 2, 2012

Many teenagers today check in with their parents and keep in touch with friends through instantaneous forms of communication such as text messages and Skype, while others remember growing up in the era during wartime where preserving a bond with a loved one meant relying on written letters that could take weeks to arrive to their intended destinations.

Meg Amsden Folsom, 45-year resident of Winter Park, remembers sharing her active teen years with her father, Robert S. Amsden, through letters and tapes while he served as field director for the American Red Cross in the Vietnam War.

“It was total turmoil,” said Meg, who was writing letters to her father from 1968 to 1970. “It was a controversial war to begin with and tensions were high. Some of my classmates had boyfriends and brothers who were serving, since typically they draft or enlist younger ages, but no one in our community had a father involved with the war.”

Her father retired from the U.S. Air Force as a senior master sergeant in 1967 and joined the American Red Cross, training at Fort Bragg, N.C. before being assigned to a base in Cu Chui, Vietnam. Her mother, Nancy Amsden, was responsible for running a single-family home with Meg, 15, her sister Lane Amsden Lewis, 17 and her brother Bobby Amsden, 13, which was not always easy.
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Red Cross brings Marine Lance Cpl. Cory Killgore home

Family of Marine's slain wife is 'devastated'
April 19, 2012

Killgore's husband, Marine Lance Cpl. Cory Killgore, is returning to San Diego on emergency leave from Afghanistan arranged by the Red Cross after his wife's disappearance. Brittany Killgore had filed for divorce last week.

The father of a slain Marine wife said Thursday that the family is "devastated and asks to be left alone to grieve at this time."

Darryl Wrest said his daughter, Brittany Dawn Killgore, was "a beautiful, kind, caring young woman trying to find her way in this world. Family and friends love and miss Brittany beyond words."

Wrest read a short statement at the San Diego County Sheriff's Department headquarters while flanked by detectives working to solve the death of his 22-year-old daughter.

Meanwhile, Jessica Lynn Lopez, 25, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the case. Her bail was set at $3 million dollars.

Lopez was arrested Tuesday at a San Diego motel; she had attempted to kill herself and left a suicide note, authorities said.

"This case has shaken many in San Diego County and many in the military community at Camp Pendleton," Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis said.
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Donut Dollies provided touch of home in combat zones of Vietnam

Saluting Vietnam Vets: Donut Dollies provided touch of home
BY ALEX MCRAE
THE TIMES-HERALD

Today, women serve in almost every job in every branch of the U.S. military -- but during the Vietnam War, far fewer females were members of the military, and most of those who served in Vietnam were nurses.

The work that female members of the military did was vital. Not long after the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall was dedicated in Washington, D.C., in 1982, an effort began to honor the more than 260,000 women who served in the military during the Vietnam era.

In November 1993, the Vietnam Women's Memorial was dedicated. The memorial depicts three nurses tending to a fallen soldier. It is the first memorial in the nation's capital honoring the military service of American women.

But while military nurses played a crucial role in the war and saved the lives of thousands of soldiers, Vietnam veterans will never forget another group of females who didn't wear military uniforms, but dresses that marked them as workers with the American Red Cross.

They served at bases across the country, lifting spirits, helping with day-to-day needs of the troops and providing what the women called "A touch of home in the combat zone."
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Donut Dollies provided touch of home

Red Cross finds PTSD Conversation Falls On Deaf Ears

With so many suffering the ravages of PTSD on them and their families, you'd think the seats would be filled, but as with most things, it isn't the message but the way it is delivered that causes issues.

I am not sure what the Red Cross is doing in this case but going into this other report, it is easy to see that it is the way they are doing it.

Red Cross Holds Veteran Information Night

The video report shows a couple of people sitting in the chairs. Most of the presentations, hearings and conferences I've attended over the years, were well attended but they were geared toward professionals treating PTSD and not for those with PTSD. What they had in common with programs like the Red Cross is they were all boring.

PTSD Conversation Falls On Deaf Ears
By Jenna Hanchard

July 26, 2011
Updated Jul 26, 2011 at 11:04 PM EDT
Endicott, NY (WBNG Binghamton) A message about post traumatic stress disorder falls on empty seats at the American Red Cross in Endicott Tuesday night.

Since January, the Red Cross has been hosting veteran information nights.
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PTSD Conversation Falls On Deaf Ears

Every group out there trying to help has to adapt to the generation that grew up with the Internet, video games, iTunes and being entertained. They don't want to see a poorly made Power Point with graphs and a couple of pictures. They don't want to hear a presenter reading off a script with no passion in their voice. Above all this, the last thing they want to do is spend a couple of hours sitting in a room paying attention to people not really paying attention to them. If these service groups do not adapt to their world they will continue to show them that they are not willing to go there.

Imagine trying to help homeless veterans but holding the program in an upper scale neighborhood. That may be where the providers live, but it is not where the homeless veterans live. Then try to establish any kind of relationship with them when you avoid the area they live in otherwise. You have to know "where they live" in order to help them live better.

It is the same no matter what help you want to give. You have to get into their world. You have to understand them and speak their language, or at the very least, make it comfortable for them to use theirs freely. If they swear, let them. Your sensitive ears can stand it when you understand the depth of their pain, so if that's the language they need to use to communicate it to you, let them. At least they're trying.

If you have a service group trying to get thru to them, then spend the time to understand their world. Spend a few bucks and get an updated presentation to show. Get someone with a video camera to put together a video to show. While these veterans are showing up more and more at shelters, arrested, divorced and attempting suicide at higher rates, they are screaming for not just help, but people willing to really show they understand every aspect of their lives. Don't just show up as if that's all they need because they won't be there.

Red Cross unveiling military emergency call center

REGION: Red Cross unveiling military emergency call center

By MARK WALKER mlwalker@nctimes.com

The San Diego Chapter of the American Red Cross has hired nearly three dozen workers as it launches the agency's only military emergency call center west of the Mississippi River.

Set for unveiling on Thursday, the San Diego center is expected to deliver as many as 170,000 such messages involving significant family news to more than 60,000 troops stationed worldwide.

"We're extremely honored and excited to chosen as only one of four calling sites across the country," said San Diego Red Cross spokeswoman Teri Klemchuk.

Thursday's ceremony begins at 10 a.m. at the call center, 3950 Calle Fortunada, San Diego. A variety of military officials and community leaders are expected to attend.

Red Cross officials have moved in recent months to streamline services and cut administrative costs, leading to consolidating call centers into the San Diego site along with ones at Fort Sill, Okla., Louisville, Ky., and Springfield, Mass.
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Red Cross unveiling military emergency call center

Red Cross, National Guard trying to head off suicide

August 26, 2009
Red Cross, National Guard trying to head off suicide
When members of the West Virginia National Guard's 821st Engineering Company came home from Iraq in the spring of 2008, they were hailed as heroes. But along with their gear and their memories, some members of the unit brought with them the ghosts of combat and stress.
By Rusty Marks
Staff writer
Advertiser

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When members of the West Virginia National Guard's 821st Engineering Company came home from Iraq in the spring of 2008, they were hailed as heroes.


But along with their gear and their memories, some members of the unit brought with them the ghosts of combat and stress. In March, one of the members of the 821st shot himself.


"He had been back for 10 months," said Staff Sgt. Travis Willard, manager of the suicide prevention program for the West Virginia National Guard.


Willard said the soldier had been going through a divorce, and had been seeing a professional about his problems. "At one point he discontinued his treatment," Willard said. "He just stopped going."


Members of the American Red Cross and West Virginia National Guard teamed up Wednesday to present a Suicide Prevention and Military Families Workshop at Charleston's Embassy Suites Hotel.


About 50 people -- mostly health providers, behavioral health professionals and family advocates -- came to find out more about spotting service members at risk for suicide and how to stop suicidal thoughts before it's too late.
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http://wvgazette.com/News/200908260754

Bandits kidnap Catholic nuns in Kenya

Bandits kidnap Catholic nuns in Kenya
Story Highlights
Suspected Somalian bandits kidnap two Catholic nuns in northern Kenya

Abduction happened at Catholic mission in Kenyan town of El Wak

Area wracked by clashes among various clans
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Italy's foreign minister is working with Kenyan authorities to secure the release of two Italian nuns, who were kidnapped Monday by suspected Somalian bandits, according to the foreign ministry in Rome.

A Kenya Red Cross spokesman said the two Catholic nuns were abducted from the Catholic mission in the northern Kenyan town of El Wak, just over two kilometers (one mile) from the border with Somalia.
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Two children found unhurt in Haiti school collapse

Survivors Found in Haiti School Collapse
CNN
Port AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Nov. 8) -- Rescue workers in Haiti continued sifting through piles of rubble for signs of life Saturday as night fell over the grim scene where a school collapsed Friday.

Two uninjured children were pulled from the rubble of College La Promesse Evangelique in Petionville on Saturday and reunited with their families, said Rob Drouen, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Their rescue came hours after the death toll from the collapse climbed to 82 with the discovery of 21 bodies in a classroom, President Rene Preval said, according to Clarens Renois of the Haitian Press Network.

However, Drouen said it was difficult to say exactly how many people were inside the school.

"Yesterday, there was a special event at the school, so there were not only pupils but family members and friends who were invited," he said. "It's very difficult to say how many people were in the school."

Red Cross Disaster Relief Down $100 Million

Red Cross Disaster Relief Down $100 Million
Local chapter committed to $100,000 for national relief fund

By Chuck Hagee, Gazette Packet
Thursday, October 23, 2008


Wall Street and Main Street aren't the only financial victims of the economic downturn. Add to the list the Disaster Relief Fund of the American Red Cross. It is in the hole $100 million due to one of the most active disaster years in its history.

Although the fund is actually $200 million in the hole, Congress supplied $100 million. It is now up to the American Red Cross, through its local chapters, to raise the additional $100 million, according to Lissette S. Bishins, executive director, Alexandria Chapter, American Red Cross.

"I expect this to be another rough fund raising year due to the national economic situation. We are committed to raising $100,000 for the national Disaster Relief Fund," she said during a media briefing October 16 at the local headquarters office.

"We also didn't do very well this year at our largest fund raising event, the annual Waterfront Festival. We only netted $15,000 due to the bad weather and lack of attendance," Bishins said.

Bishins took over the reins of the local chapter last November after a series of personnel turnovers. Upon her arrival she found the chapter $200,000 in debt, but was able to reduce that to $30,000 by the beginning of the new fiscal year, July 1, 2008. The local annual budget is $900,000, according to Bishins.

"We have more engaged volunteers today than we have had in a long time and we are much more involved in the community. That will increase in the year ahead," Bishins said.

Some of the events planned are a volunteer celebration October 29 at the local headquarters, a "Restaurant Night" brunch fund raiser at Tempo Restaurant November 2, a Breakfast of Champions November 18, accelerated blood drives to strengthen their ability to provide 50 percent of the city's blood supply, and a new military hospital outreach program in which the local chapter will be collecting new items for the Fort Belvoir Wounded Warrior Military Transition Unit.

Presently, the local chapter has a roster of 500 active volunteers. Seventeen of those were deployed to the Gulf Coast region during 2008 for hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike, according to Bishins. Several are still there providing relief services.

In addition, the local chapter has provided upwards of 10 volunteers to staff the Red Cross Disaster Relief Call Center located in Ashburn. It receives calls from evacuees and residents in a disaster zone and directs assistance to them.
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Returning troops encouraged to seek mental health treatment

Returning troops encouraged to seek mental health treatment


By Senitra Horbrook, Staff Writer
(Created: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 11:06 AM CDT)

Post traumatic stress disorder often afflicts troops returning from war. The United States Army last year had the highest rate of suicide in 30 years, according to published reports.

That’s why, with the help of a half-million dollar grant, the Mental Health America of Greater Dallas has started a free program to help troops returning from Iraq or Afghanistan find appropriate mental health care.

“The main goal is to help the veterans and service members to relieve the stress issues related to post traumatic stress disorder,” said Walter Norris, one of two coordinators of “Operation Healthy Reunions.”

Mental Health America of Greater Dallas and the American Red Cross received a grant in the amount of $553,260 to support mental health care and case management for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and family members. Assistance paying for health services over a two-year period will be provided through the Texas Resources for Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment Fund (TRIAD) of The Dallas Foundation.

“We don’t want to be like Vietnam. Many of them had PTSD and nothing was done,” Norris said.
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http://www.scntx.com/articles/2008/06/25/carrollton_leader/news/85.txt