Courtesy Photo | Sgt. 1st Class Randy Oler, founder of Operation Toy Drop, inspects Maj. Gen. Herbert...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Randy Oler, according to close friends, was a man’s man, a true American, bigger than life, and a gentle giant whose greatest weakness was a child’s smile. So when he approached four of his close friends about an idea he had that involved an airborne operation, foreign jumpmasters, toys, children, and lots of fun, they all jumped on board.
Operation Toy Drop, hosted by the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, was born in 1998.
That December, after eight months of planning, USACAPOC’s first Operation Toy Drop had been completed on a prayer and multiple handshakes between Oler and several organizations around the Fort Bragg community.
The operation gives the military and the civilian community the opportunity to help Families in need over the holiday season. Paratroopers bring an unwrapped toy to donate in exchange for the opportunity to get jump wings from allied countries from around the world. This year’s event will host allied jumpmasters from 11 countries.
The first Operation Toy Drop, with the help of Marine pilots, was very small and collected few toys. In the years that followed, the operation grew, grossing more than 56,000 toy donations since its beginning.
Last year, the event drew more than 4,000 paratroopers, 10,900 toys, and 24 allied jumpmasters.
This year, the 14th Annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop is scheduled for Dec. 10 on Sicily Drop zone at 7:30 a.m., and it promised to be bigger and better, providing more toys for families in need. Paratroopers who would like to participate need to bring an unwrapped, brand new toy to Green Ramp on Dec. 9, at 8 a.m., during the parachute lottery in order to earn the opportunity to jump for foreign jump wings from Ukraine, Uruguay, Cambodia and eight other countries participating this year..
Drop-off boxes will be available at each post exchange on Fort Bragg and throughout the community surrounding the installation for people who would like to donate toys. The local hockey team, the Fayetteville FireAntz, will also be collecting toys during their military appreciation game, Dec. 6, which they’re dedicating to Operation Toy Drop.
Looking back at the growth of Operation Toy Drop over the past 14 years, it is clear that Oler was able to bring to a big, military community the small-town “help-your-neighbor” mentality.
Oler, a Tennessee native, joined the Army in 1979 as an infantryman, spending time in Ranger and Special Forces battalions throughout his career. He deployed in support of Operations Desert Storm, Provide Comfort and Joint Endeavor. In 1995, he joined USACAPOC to become a civil affairs specialist.
“He loved to drink his Mountain Dew and had to have his cigarette with it. You had to get to know him, and when you got to know him, once you learned to know him — you loved him,” said Harris Luther, Prime Knight manager for Pope Field, who met Oler while coaching youth sports. “(He was) just a true American and very caring person. You can’t describe (Oler) in just one word. He truly cared about people. You just can’t say enough good things about him.”
By April of 2004, Oler had been promoted to sergeant first class and was finishing up an assignment at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. Even with relocation orders in hand, Oler was already preparing for that year’s Operation Toy Drop. He warned his friends that he may not be there to fulfill his duties for the operation, but he was still able to prepare as long as he could.
On April 20, 2004, Sgt. 1st Class Randall R. Oler suffered a heart attack while performing jumpmaster duties aboard a C-130 aircraft. At 43 years old, Oler was pronounced dead at Womack Army Medical Center. After his death, the operation was dedicated to him in memoriam.
“Losing Randy was real hard, because I was here the night Randy passed away on the aircraft,” explained close friend Willie Wellbrook, a retired Air Force master sergeant and now head loadmaster for Operation Toy Drop. “I got the call that we had an in-flight emergency. I just didn’t realize at the time who it was until the next day. Losing Randy was tough because Randy was the heart and soul of this operation.”
Close friends couldn’t see continuing with Operation Toy Drop without Oler and that year’s event was in jeopardy. Oler was able to do all the coordinating in his head and didn’t write anything down. But by August, Oler’s friends looked at each other and decided that Oler would have wanted them to continue helping the children around the community.
“There’s one story I like to tell. One year, we had a bunch of toys and Randy and I put ‘em in a van, and we drove out to Tennessee. We pulled up to an orphanage and the sisters there were in tears because they told us that those were the only toys those kids were getting. That’s why I come back every year. Maybe I lost sight of that after Randy passed, but I now remember that day and no child should be in that sort of position,” said Scott Murray, friend and former Soldier in the XVIII Airborne Corps.
Murray is now the XVIII Airborne Corps G-3 Air point of contact and liaison between USACAPOC and corps when the Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop is in full swing.
Operation Toy Drop is now the largest, combined airborne operation in the world. It is held by the Army Reserve’s USACAPOC with the help of Pope Field’s 440th Airlift Wing, the participation of Soldiers from Fort Bragg’s XVIII Airborne Corps, 82nd Airborne Division and Special Operations Command.
“We have said that if Randy could see us now, he’d be laughing that (the operation) has gone from ‘Hey bubby, can you help me get 200 people on a jump to having (thousands of) people jumping for the first day alone and having (over 10,000) toy donations,” laughed Becki Caldwell, a close friend and “Head Elf” for Operation Toy Drop.
“I don’t think you’ll ever meet another person like Randy,” Wellbrook reflected. “Randy left a legacy and I think his legacy is what he said on the back of that pickup truck with Scott Murray. It was what he could do for local kids and he hit the ground running. It’s blown into a huge operation and I think Toy Drop will be here as long as kids are in need.”
For more information about donating toys, attending the event, locations of toy donation drop-off boxes, or the FireAntz military appreciation games, visit www.optoydrop.net
Operation Toy Drop is also on Facebook, search for Operation Toy Drop and “like” the page for the quickest, up-to-date information on the event.
Editors note: This is a multi-story series that will explain what Operation Toy Drop is, who started it, and the people who make the event happen year after year. This week’s topic is about Randy Oler, the founder of Operation Toy Drop. **excerpts have been taken from 2010’s story series on the event.
| Date Taken: | 11.10.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 12.13.2011 11:46 |
| Story ID: | 81297 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 105 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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