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    Soldiers, civilians never leave a fallen comrade

    Soldiers, civilians never leave a fallen comrade

    Photo By Sgt. Tiffany Fudge | U.S. Soldiers with the 8th Sustainment Command, hit the streets to help homeless...... read more read more

    HONOLULU, HI, UNITED STATES

    06.11.2013

    Story by Staff Sgt. Gaelen Lowers 

    8th Theater Sustainment Command

    HONOLULU - More than 50 U.S. Army Pacific volunteers hit the streets of downtown Honolulu, June 11, to offer support to homeless veterans as part of an island-wide outreach effort.

    The group of soldiers and nurses from the 8th Theater Sustainment Command, the Tripler Army Medical Center, the 25th Infantry Division, and the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade worked in conjunction with Veterans Affairs and the Institute for Human Services Men’s Shelter to find and educate homeless veterans on the benefits available to them, while also linking them with medical care and shelter resources.

    “We’re here because we’re giving back,” said Master Sgt. Mattie Smith-Clayton, a volunteer with the 8th TSC. “It will let them know that someone else has hope for them. People notice who they are, they are human beings. Once we instill in them the respect that we have for them, it may influence them to turn their lives around.”

    The volunteers split into four outreach groups and three labor teams, each with an IHS staff member to guide them in how to establish relationships with and handle the variety of needs of those they interacted with.

    The outreach groups visited the Chinatown, Aala Park, and Iwilei Street areas meeting and encouraging more than 10 homeless veterans to begin the process of claiming their benefits and getting back on track.

    The labor teams delivered furniture and appliances from a church in Eva Beach to an emergency bed house that will eventually shelter as many as 20 homeless veterans at a time.

    In the afternoon, the group reunited and traveled to the Nimitz underpass, an area heavily populated with homeless people.

    “We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for the veterans that came before us,” said Smith-Clayton. “We’re always going to be soldiers for life.”

    This theme, “Soldiers for Life,” was simultaneously echoed by more than 250 other volunteers working with eight veteran organizations across Oahu as part of a U.S. Army Pacific initiative to reinforce each soldier’s commitment to never leave a fallen comrade.

    “Everyone has a vested interest here,” said Smith-Clayton. “We’re not just soldiers for life, we’re people for life.”

    Soldiers of the 45th Sustainment Brigade connected with history by visiting the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery, June 11, as part of an island-wide outreach effort.

    The soldiers worked to gently clean hundreds of headstones that were blackened from years of Hawaii weather.

    “Having the volunteers here is great,” said Willie Hirokane, the cemetery operations manager. “Having clean headstones enhances the whole cemetery for families. When they come out and see everything clean it projects a good image to the community.”

    For many soldiers, the event was a chance to stop and reflect on their own feelings about their involvement in the community.

    “This is where I live,” said Pfc. Angel Edmonds of the 540th Quartermaster Company. “In my opinion you should want to help out, want to make your community a better place, because you’re part of it.”

    The cleaning was hard and tedious work, but Edmonds said she didn’t mind.

    “You learn a lot doing this,” she said. “You see people smile when they walk up to the headstone and it’s all clean. It makes the hard work worth it.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 06.11.2013
    Date Posted: 06.12.2013 16:17
    Story ID: 108538
    Location: HONOLULU, HI, US

    Web Views: 175
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN