"I am here to serve, not to be served."

Each year, while memories and tributes from the observances of Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans’ Day rightfully focus the spotlight on the contributions and sacrifices of military members, the American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces Program (SAF) maintains an ongoing, vital presence in providing support to active and retired military and their families.  Perhaps nothing symbolizes this more than the dedicated volunteers who form the backbone of the SAF program, and those who make service to others their life mission – like Mike Hoplight. 

The Niagara Falls native’s commitment to others goes back to age 14, when he volunteered at the Niagara Falls Boys and Girls club, showing cartoons to younger children.  Now, at age 75, he hasn’t let up a bit.

“My motto since I was 14 years old is that I am here to serve, not to be served.” 

Hoplight joined the U.S. Army in 1967 and following the completion of a four-year active service commitment, served an additional 25 years with the Army Reserves, retiring in 1996 as a Sargent First Class – E7.  During this time, he served in West Germany/West Berlin, including at the famous CheckPoint Charlie border crossing between East and West Germany during the Cold War.

“I was a Wall Rat,” he remembers, explaining how he assisted people who were attempting escape from the communist east side.  While stationed in West Berlin he also was assigned to the Presidential Guard for President Richard M. Nixon during the former president’s visit for the Four-Power Talks that included the U.S., Great Britain, France and Russia.

“They met at the old Nazi headquarters, and when the president was moving, we were his first line of defense. We couldn’t look at him and you could tell who everyone else was by their lapel pins,” he recalled, referring to the presence of the Secret Service and other security agencies.  Hoplight can still reel off the names of the other world leaders in attendance as well.    

Still, after nearly three decades of service to his country, Hoplight was not ready to let go of his commitment to being of service to others, which would eventually include his retired military family members.  In 1996, coinciding with his retirement from the Army Reserves, Hoplight joined the Red Cross as a volunteer.  Over the past 26 years he has continued to volunteer his time and talent, initially serving within the Disaster Services team as a Mass Care/Shelter Lead.  Hoplight worked as part of relief teams responding to several high-profile national disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina, Irene and Ike, the latter where he became certified for running a Mega Shelter, which serves more than 1,000 people. 

“We were actually outside in tents; there were no buildings left to hold us,” he remembers of Ike’s devastation in Texas.  Overall, he was deployed 22 times to more than a dozen states including Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Iowa, and North Dakota, as well as in New York and New Jersey during five assignments in response to Superstorm Sandy.

It has been his service to his fellow veterans in western New York as an SAF volunteer, however, that shines the spotlight on Hoplight and elicits genuine devotion and contentment when he talks of his work. He is a lead volunteer at the Buffalo VA; providing support to veterans in long term care on Wednesday and Friday mornings and entertaining them with unique culinary celebrations such as “Timbits and Coffee” (from a regional Tim Horton’s Donut chain), SPAM Day and Sardine & Crackers Day.  The celebrations may seem funny in nature, but are extremely meaningful to the veterans who partake in them.

“Someone contacted me once and said ‘how can you give veterans SPAM and sardines, that’s disgusting,’” he said, going on to point out that for many it is a common and shared experience.

“In the military, everyone eats sardines or SPAM for the energy.  All those guys (veterans) remember it, it’s part of their experience,” he said.  “All this stuff – the Timbits, SPAM and Sardines – is meant to get the guys out of their rooms.  These are patients in long term care or hospice, and it’s my job to get them out of their rooms, to get them distracted for a while from the fact that they have cancer, or may be dying.  Instead, we are able to laugh and share a few jokes.” 

The Buffalo VA also happens to be one of the locations in the VA systems that offers the No Veteran Dies Alone program, designed to provide companionship at the end of life for patients who may have no remaining family members.  Naturally, Hoplight sees this special role as part of his responsibility and commitment.

“We would not leave you alone on a battlefield to die, and we’re not going to leave you alone in your hospital room to die either,” he states matter-of-factly.

As much as Hoplight has given to local veterans and military families, his service has at times been at a national level.  In yet another role as an SAF reservist/mobile staff member for Red Cross National Headquarters, he has deployed to support active military in combat locations three times; twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. The SAF reservist/mobile role is not your typical Red Cross assignment.  It is highly competitive and only those who meet all requirements, including health requirements and security clearances, are eligible to be part of this elite group.  These Mobile Staff Members provide direct service delivery (e.g., emergency communication messaging and comfort and care services) to service members deployed across the globe. 

During his eight months in Afghanistan, Hoplight helped evacuate the wounded from Bagram Air Base.

“Every morning at 3:00 a.m, a C-17 would leave for a U.S. military hospital in Germany and another C-17 would leave for Dover (Delaware).  That was a tough assignment.”

Still, instead of seeking respite in his off-hours, Hoplight volunteered his time in Egyptian and Korean hospitals set up to help wounded civilians, including children injured by mines.

“You have to understand,” he explained, “that you’re in a room (on base) that you sleep in and if you extend your arms to your sides, you can touch both walls.  There’s a space heater in the hallways, but maybe not in your room.  We were in the mountains and it was cold, so you kept moving.  I didn’t go there to sit in my room or hang out in the coffee shop. I went there to serve.”

Now a resident of Sanborn, New York, a small town wedged between Niagara Falls and Lewiston, Hoplight has been married for 54 years and has two grown daughters and five grandchildren.  They understand and have supported his service to the military.

“My wife knew of my commitment to the military.  I always took care of them (his family) but my wife knew what my calling was.”

His commitment continues – and its impact is great.  The Buffalo VA counts more than 50,000 outpatients annually and, as Hoplight emphatically states, “It’s our duty to treat them right.”  He does just that, not only in Buffalo, but at the Batavia VA as well.  Still, despite all that he has contributed, it is Hoplight who extends gratitude to the Red Cross.

“I’m just grateful that the Red Cross has given me the opportunity to still serve,” he says.  “That’s the most important thing to me….to serve this country.” 

Within SAF, Hoplight holds the following lead positions:

MEPS Briefing Lead

VA Representative for Batavia and Buffalo VA

WNY SAF Advisory Committee Member

 

Other organizations he volunteers for are:

American Legion

VFW

Town of Niagara Lions Club

Niagara County Veterans Court; Mentor

Nat’l VA Advisory Committee on cemeteries and memorials; native American and Alaskan Native work group

Missing In America Committee, Washington DC

Four Chaplains society legion of honor member

American Patriot

 

 

 

 

 

Red Cross, Quilts of Valor Foundation Collaborate to Honor Local WWII Vet

Thanks to the actions of a thoughtful and resourceful local Red Cross Volunteer, a Rochester-area WWII veteran was honored more than 75 years after serving his country. Joseph Young, Jr., who served as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army’s 20^th Corp under General George Patton’s command, received a Quilt of Valor at a gathering at the Greater Rochester Chapter of the American Red Cross office at 1040 University Avenue on Wednesday, February 23, at 12:00 p.m. U.S. Congressman Joe Morelle, representing New York’s 25^th Congressional District, will also be on hand to honor Young.

Red Cross Community Volunteer Leader Laurie McFaul Frey, who in December accompanied the 98-year-old veteran to a Wreaths Across America ceremony to honor deceased U.S. service members, discovered that he had never been honored for his service in WWII by any local group or program. Through a collaboration with Red Cross staff and volunteers, including Services to the Armed Forces (SAF) Chair Susan Louis, a request was made to the local Chapter of the Quilts of Valor for a hand-made quilt for Lt. Young. Barbara Frost, New York State Coordinator for the Quilts of Valor Foundation, will present the quilt to Young.  

A native of Rochester, Young entered the military in December 1942 and was assigned to 20^th Corp, a part of Patton’s vaunted 3^rd Army, with which he served until December 1945. Second Lt. Young was part of the second wave on Omaha Beach during the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944, and fought on from France through Austria. For his bravery and service, 2^nd Lt. Young was presented with four medals - a Good Conduct medal, a WWII Victory medal, European African Middle Eastern Campaign with Three Stars, and an American Campaign. 

After his discharge, Lt. Young came back to Rochester and worked at Taylor Instruments for a few years before accepting a position at Eastman Kodak, where he worked for 36 years until his retirement in 1985. In 1949, he married his lovely wife Helen Rose Jordan. They were married for 54 years and had three children: Joseph, Deborah and Robert. They also have five grandchildren and three great grand children

Catherine Roberts, whose son, Nat, was deployed in Iraq at the time, founded Quilts of Valor in 2003 after experiencing a dream of a service member in despair gaining comfort after being wrapped in a quilt. Since that time, it has evolved into a movement of over 10,000 volunteer members across 600 groups in all 50 States. The organization’s primary objective is to bring healing to service members and veterans through an expression of gratitude and the belief that the quilts bring a tangible comfort to those who receive them. This year, Quilts of Valor expects to reach the milestone of awarding its 300,000^th quilt to a veteran.

Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces Program:

While many recognize the American Red Cross as an organization that collects and distributes blood products and responds to local and national disasters, its Service to the Armed Forces program (SAF) has a long and storied history of supporting the military and is a prominent and valuable asset the organization provides within communities throughout the nation. Today, the American Red Cross continues to serve the U.S. Military community from the time a service member takes the oath to navigating life as a veteran. The Red Cross SAF program holds a congressional charter to provide the direct link of communication between the active-duty service member and their family at home.

In the Western New York region alone, the Red Cross provided 3,487 case services to veterans and family members during the last fiscal year. On a global perspective, each year, the Red Cross provides more than 500,000 services to members of the military, veterans and their families across the country and around the world.

• In times of emergency, the Red Cross helps military families communicate with their loved ones and facilitates their return home through our Hero Care Network, which is available online, by phone, through a mobile app or in person, 24 hours a day.
• A variety of free resiliency workshops are offered, in person and online, to provide active military, veterans and their families with effective tools for facing challenges and stress.
• Red Cross medical and non-medical volunteers provide care, comfort and therapy items at veteran hospitals and military treatment facilities.
• Stateside the Red Cross has a presence on all military installations.  It also offers programs and services on-site at more than 140 military medical facilities and 170 veteran’s care facilities worldwide.   

 

Baseball, apple pie and American heroes

There's nothing more American than baseball, and we owe the freedom to enjoy the national pastime to the sacrifices of our military men and women. So, what better way to recognize our Veterans than by taking them out to the ballgame?

Last night, the American Red Cross hosted veterans from the Batavia Veterans Administration Hospital at the Batavia Muckdogs game at Dywer Stadium. The tickets for the game were donated to the American Red Cross by Dr. Paul C. Stomper of East Amherst, and the Red Cross also provided the meals for the Veterans in attendance (no word on if apple pie was on the menu). A picture-perfect night was made even better when the hometown Muckdogs beat the Staten Island Yankees, 5-3.

The Red Cross would like to thank Dr. Stomper and the Batavia Muckdogs for their generosity and support of our veterans, and our own Suzanne Falise for making the necessary arrangements. 

The American Red Cross serves and supports members of the military, veterans and their families by providing needed comfort and care in military and veterans hospitals, support for military families with vital social services and emergency communications to keep families connected when they need it most.