CAMP BONIFAS - The American Red Cross working out of Area I partnered with Area II American Red Cross, Army and Air Force Exchange Services, the Korean Red Cross and various organizations as they were placed "in front of them all" by spreading holiday cheer Dec. 23 to Soldiers and service members stationed near the Demilitarized Zone.
The American Red Cross spent the entire day at Camp Bonifas for a tradition the Area I American Red Cross and Joint Security Area have shared for more than five years.
"This is a great morale booster. Not a lot of people come here to spend the day with us, have lunch and present us with gifts; usually it is the other way around, people come here and we give them a tour and they leave. For the Area I American Red Cross with the support of Area II, AAFES and the commissary to come here, it means a lot, to not just me, but to my Soldiers as well," said Lt. Col. John Rhodes, United Nations Command Security Battalion commander.
"Most of the Soldiers," Rhodes noted, "are unaccompanied and the Soldiers who are accompanied to Korea with their family members live in Yongsan, so it is not every day they get to go and see them. It is great to have the American Red Cross here because it gives us a little taste of home."
Packing a bus filled with gifts, the American Red Cross left USAG-Casey early in the morning for the long trip up to the DMZ. A bus filled with excited volunteers from the Yongsan American Red Cross Youth Program, USAG-Casey and Red Cloud, and American Red Cross workers from Yongsan, Area I and the Korean Red Cross, arrived at the JSA shortly before lunch. The group had lunch with the JSA Soldiers, service members and chain of command before the official gift giving began.
"We do not have too many people come up to JSA. The American Red Cross is the driving force behind giving us support. I have been here 13 months and the gifts help. All of us volunteered to do this job so coming here to visit shows us they do care about us," said Sgt. Joshua Marks, JSA camp engineer who won a sound system raffled off to all of the Soldiers in attendance.
Jana Fullmer, Area I American Red Cross station manager, proceeded to the middle of the dining facility after seeing everyone had finished their meal. Fullmer expressed her appreciation to the Soldiers and service members, and mentioned no one has forgotten them pointing out how hard their mission is at the JSA. Fullmer also acknowledged the hard work her volunteers performed this past year to make this one day a special one for the JSA Soldiers and service members.
"We have been planning this for the entire year, deciding how to raise funds and what to bring to make this the best day ever," Fullmer said. "Soldiers at the DMZ are our Soldiers just like all Soldiers in Area I, so we came to show them they are not forgotten."
"It is wonderful to see so many people helping with something like this, and I know everyone involved had a good time," said Leah Barber, USAG-Casey American Red Cross assistant station manager. "Our volunteers worked long hours in adverse (cold, rainy, snowy) conditions to raise the money for this event.
The volunteers helped with all the fundraising. They brought in their own baked goods to put in the stockings for the Soldiers, and we had several dozen people help us wrap gifts and prepare the presents for the Soldiers."
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