Army and Air Force interact and collaborate to support community efforts at Newton Police Department National Night Out. Jacob Helm featured in uniform with Chief Riddle Petty Officer Coup and Tech Sergeant Hein.
In late July of 2022 Mr. Jacob Helms approached the Hickory Army Recruiting Team with a request. Mr. Helms suffers from the condition osteogenesis imperfecta which causes his bones to be very brittle and break easily as well as having survived repeated aneurysms in the major blood supply to his brain. After having been denied by the Make-A-Wish program due to his age he was desperate to find a way to live out his dream of becoming a Soldier, even if just for one day. SFC Thomas Mease and his team of recruiters, with the support of the Asheville Recruiting Company, went to work planning to make this young man’s dream come true. Upon Mr. Helms’ return to the Hickory station on August 2nd 2022 he was presented with his very own uniform equipped with name tape and patches. In addition to his brand new OCPs Mr. Helms received a plethora of Army gifts including headphones, shirts, water bottles, hats, and much more. Mr. Helms was treated to lunch in the Hickory area by SSG Zachary Norman and then taken for some “weapons” training at the Lock-n-Load Air Soft Rifle Range with SSG David Quick and SSG Joshua James. After thoroughly impressing the recruiting staff with his marksmanship skills, Jacob was escorted via Humvee to the Newton Police Department’s National Night Out event in Newton, NC. While at the event Mr. Helms was able to interact with the public and proudly represent the United States Army as he had always wished. The Catawba County Sheriffs Department, including their K-9 unit and SWAT team, along with the Newton Fire Department paused for a photo with Jacob and to introduce him to their working dogs, Storm and Thor. Mr. Helms was able to explore the SWAT team’s armored vehicle and the fire trucks on location before returning to hand out Army gifts to local children alongside SFC Lanette Britton and SFC James Roe. The excitement of the National Night Out was not the end of events for Mr. Helms as upon his return he was welcomed with gift packages from the United States Navy and United States Air Force recruiting teams. Jacob was presented with challenge coins from the US Navy and the US Army Columbia Recruiting Battalion. By the end of the day Jacob was overcome with joy and had lived out a dream that he had thought was impossible only days before. It was the sincerest pleasure of the Hickory Army Recruiting Station to be able to do this for Jacob and to give him a joyful day that he so clearly deserved.
| Date Taken: | 08.03.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.13.2022 18:04 |
| Photo ID: | 7368492 |
| VIRIN: | 220803-O-JH420-772 |
| Resolution: | 640x480 |
| Size: | 101.08 KB |
| Location: | HICKORY, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 102 |
| Downloads: | 7 |
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