Fatherhood, Family and Serving our Country

I had to share this story because not only is it a good one, but also, HT is an amazing guy!

It’s not often that we run across a person who’s had two successful careers in one lifetime, a wonderful fifty-year marriage and the chance to raise two lovely children. Well, that’s exactly what H.T. Linke has done and all while serving his country as a soldier in the U.S. Army and as a public relations professional for the American Red Cross.

“The best phrase to describe my husband, H.T., is that he is a ‘True Gentleman’, which is the creed of his fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon,” said wife Carol Linke. “To say that he is a kind, loving, caring, and understanding husband and father is an understatement. We have been married almost 50 years and he is as much a gentleman today as he was when we were dating, still opening and closing doors and allowing me to enter first.”

Linke had a distinguished military career with assignments that have taken him from the Berlin Wall in Cold War Germany to the rice paddies of Vietnam to the frozen hills near the DMZ in Korea, and all across the United States. He’s led men into combat; served as a battalion commander; was press aide to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon; and Chief of Public Affairs for both the United Nations Command in Korea and U.S. Army Pacific in Hawaii.

Everybody Loves Veto…

Holy Cannoli Batman, the Illinois General Assembly will convene this week for its second and final installment of the 2013 Fall Veto Session.

The American Red Cross will be there to make sure members of our armed forces stationed away from their loved ones receive well wishes from home at the holidays.  The Red Cross Service to Armed Forces program asks folks to sign cards destined to warm a lonely soldiers heart during the holidays while they are far away defending the freedom we enjoy.  The 2^nd Annual Holiday Mail For Heroes at the Capitol event will take place on Wednesday November 6^th in the Capitol Rotunda and the Stratton Office Building (by the cafeteria) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Call Bryan at 217-787-7602, ext. 230 for details on getting involved!

Heartland Heroes Videos

The mission of the American Red Cross is to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies. When we do this, we not only change lives and save lives, but we also help make heroes.  The people who carry out our mission are heroes to those they touch. They are ordinary people who do extraordinary things to make others’ lives better.

Last weekend, the Central Illinois Chapter had their Heartland Heroes Dinner.  This is one of my favorite events every year because we celebrate people whose commitment and courage make a difference.

Over the next few days, I will post the stories and video of our heroes, below was our first video of the evening.  Dick Reynolds was a prisoner of war in Japan and talks about the importance of the Red Cross.

Video courtesy of Tim Sotter Productions.

Feel Good Friday… Remembering those who sacrificed it all

I am a self-proclaimed history nut.  At times, I will hear someone talking about a subject, and I just get a wild hair to learn everything I can about it.  Last night was no exception.  I heard the mention of Pearl Harbor on TV last night and started to wonder what the involvement of the Red Cross really was on that day.

So, on went the iPad, and 3 hours later, I had this summation…

Pearl Harbor is a day that for many is not as horrific as 9-11. I suppose that is just simply because most of us did not experience the emotions firsthand.  But in truth, 2,500 people died and 1,000 were wounded in a series of attacks that lasted 2 hours. Astonishing. And after reading about what Red Crossers did that day, I’d venture a guess that number, in part, would have been higher had it not been for their courage.

Long before Japanese fighter planes cast a shadow over Hawaii, Red Cross volunteers held drills called “air raid precautions”.  In a nutshell, these exercises trained Red Crossers how to protect the public during an air raid and also taught them how to respond.  According to most information I read last night, the government really didn’t think that Hawaii would be the target.   Some sources sited arrogance and others ignorance, but 71 years later, the reason for our country’s surprise doesn’t really matter.

On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked. Within minutes of the first attack, Red Cross first aid teams and nurses were on the scene using skills they learned during their air raid drills. Thousands provided help in the during the attack.  Due to the sheer devastation of buildings and infrastructure from the bombings, the wounded sometimes waited for hours to be seen by doctors. Often times, the first person to administer medical assistance was a Red Crosser. The bombing victims were given Red Cross dried plasma and sulfa drugs to keep them alive. Within twenty-four hours, the Red Cross headquarters had assembled 1,000 trained personnel, who were supported by 1.7 million chapter volunteers, for service to the armed forces.

We all know that the Red Cross served our country faithfully during WWII, but I just found it so interesting to hear about what we did at Pearl Harbor.  To imagine what they saw and the fear they felt, yet they still assisted the wounded and dying… I stand in awe of their bravery.

So on this Feel Good Friday, the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, take time to remember, honor, and pay tribute to the fighting spirit of all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice that day.

Send Some Holiday Cheer!

Well folks, we’re officially into the holiday season! While many of us will spend the next month spending time with family, hunting down gifts, putting up decorations, and enjoying holiday festivities, many of our country’s military members will spend their holidays far away from loved ones and the comforts of home.

There’s just so happens to be a way you can bring these couragous men and women, their families, and military veterans some holiday cheer – by participating in the Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes program. It’s super easy – you write a short greeting in a holiday card, send it to us, and we sort and ship them to members of our Armed Forces all over the world.

Everyone is getting in on the action – earlier this week local Red Cross volunteers set up a Holiday Mail for Heroes table at the Illinois State Capitol and collected nearly 400 holiday cards. These included hand written cards by Sheila Simon, Lt. Governor, and Judy Barr Topinka, State Comptroller.

You can do your part by dropping off your cards at your local Red Cross Chapter or mailing them to:

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

There’s just one week to go before the program ends (12/7), so don’t delay!

Just visit http://www.redcross.org/holidaymail for all the guidelines and rules. You’ll be making someone else’s holidays very happy.

Story from home…

I don’t know what it is about military stories, but they always make me tear up.  Red Cross was birthed on the battlefield with Clara Barton’s service to soldiers, so maybe I am channeling my inner Clara?

At any rate… here is the story I wanted to share with you.  I heard it from our Service to Military Families Committee after they met this month.

We gathered to provide follow-up phone calls to military families who used the Red Cross emergency communications system in August. One volunteer spoke with a very grateful central Illinois military mom. 

She contacted us to reach her two sons serving in the Army concerning the illness of their father. The Red Cross verified the severity of their father’s illness, relayed the messages to their respective commanding officers and called their mother back when the messages were successfully delivered. 

Through tears and crying she told our volunteer, “Both of my sons were able to get home and be with their father before he passed away. I have nothing but praises for the American Red Cross.”

This short story shows how crucial our Services to Armed Forces program is to military families, and makes me truly proud to be part of such an amazing organization.

The Red Cross gods have spoken

I know there are strong feelings out there about the United States’ involvement in conflicts around the world. This will not be a politically charged post because, you know, the Red Cross doesn’t get involved in that, but we do support the needs of military, their families and veterans.  I can list out all the things we do, but it doesn’t come close to helping you understand what it is that we really do.

I had been working for the Red Cross for a few years before I 100% got it.  I was out with my friend one evening, and by pure happenstance, I met a service member from a local military unit.  He was at another table but overheard me talking about the Red Cross. The next time I got up from the table, he stopped me.  It was at that point that I truly understood Red Cross Services to Armed Forces.

“I wanted to tell you that I appreciate what you do everyday at the Red Cross.  [Insert shocked Erin look here.] When I was in Afghanistan, my mother, a cancer patient, went into the hospital.  I knew that we didn’t have much more time with her before I left, but my mother assured me that we would see each other again.  When things started to look grim, my family contacted the Red Cross, and I was sent home.  Would you believe it? Even on her deathbed, my mom was still always right, because we did see each other again.”

Here is this muscular guy that looked like he could kick butt and take names, and there he was tearing up in the middle of a crowded bar remembering his mom and how the Red Cross was there for him… wow.

Now… full disclosure, I was complaining about work when this guy overheard me.  Not anything bad, of course, just belly-aching about little stuff. He gave me a hug before he rejoined his table, and man-oh-man did I ever feel about 2 inches tall.

I guess the Red Cross gods (my made up term) taught me a lesson… No matter how hectic things can get, always remember why you do what you do for the Red Cross.

Point taken…

Annnnd… roll new Red Cross military video!