Fort Knox's newest import adjusting to American life

By Ms. Maureen Rose (IMCOM)April 2, 2010

Lisa Alexandre
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FORT KNOX, Ky. - Most parents have experienced that awful ache in the pits of their stomachs and the almost paralyzing fear that grips them when they even suspect that their children might be in danger.

On Jan 13, Staff Sgt. Theirry Alexandre of Fort Knox's 2nd Squadron, 16th Cavalry Regiment experienced that terrible sensation.

Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Alexandre had learned of the earthquake that devastated Haiti the day before.

But it was more than a sad story from a faraway place - the catastrophe held a personal element for Alexandre.

His oldest daughter, Lisa, lived with her aunt and uncle in the hard-hit capital, Port-au-Prince.

The lines of communication were not functioning, so Alexandre couldn't reach his daughter, and - like any parent - he could only imagine the worst.

But the story has a fairy-tale ending, thanks to the Army.

Alexandre's Commander, Lt. Col. James Brown, and Command Sgt. Maj. Randy Zinger, became aware of the situation and discovered that there were no easy answers. In fact, Brown said they hit several road blocks.

"It would have been easy to give up and say, 'This is too hard,'" Brown explained. "But the thing I'm proudest of is that we all - to include the NCO himself and even the regimental commander, Col. Leopold Quintas, kept chipping away at it until we had a solution. No single person did it, but together, we solved it."

Once the unit learned that Fort Knox's 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) was deploying on a humanitarian mission to Haiti, things fell into place.

Command Sgt. Maj. Willie Tennant with the 3rd ESC found a job for Alexandre. Since Alexandre was a native of Haiti, French was his first language; his ability to translate would serve the unit well while giving him the chance to confirm his daughter's well-being.

"They married me with the right unit to go down there," Alexandre said. "I was helping the unit and the unit was helping me."

Once he reached Port-au-Prince, Alexandre was able to find his daughter, who, it turned out, was safe and unhurt. He made plans then for her to relocate to Fort Knox to join him and his wife and their four children.

"There was no damage to her aunt's home," Alexandre reported. "But many of the neighbors did have damage, so there are five or six families living in tents in her backyard."

The extensive devastation is hard to visualize, Alexandre said. On arrival, he was shocked by the appearance of a favorite park, near the palace in Port-au-Prince. He remembers playing in the huge park and enjoying ice cream there as a child. The park is barely recognizeable now because it has become a tent city for people who have no other place to live.

Of course, once he had traveled farther, he realized the tent city wasn't so awful, considering how few buildings were still standing.

"It's very sad to see children wandering around with no family to care for them," he said.

Serving as a personal security NCO, Alexandre's translation skills made a difference on the humanitarian mission. As the Sustainers tried to evaluate needs, requests for information were often met with halting English or silence. However, when Alexandre spoke to Haitians in French -- the official language of Haiti -- they opened up quickly.

"At first, they would be shocked to hear me speak to them in French," he said. "Then, they would open up and they were able to express themselves better in their own language, of course," he said. "They were happy to see Americans coming to help."

After the day's mission was accomplished, Alexandre often went with his friends, Sgts. Christina Disano and Brian Pauley, to visit kids in the hospital.

"We met a little boy name Pablo Picasso - that's really his name," Alexandre said. "He was a happy little boy. He's one of those kids who makes everybody else happy. If you visited Pablo, you couldn't help but leave there with a smile on your face."

While he worked with ESC, Alexandre said the unit was helping him get his daughter out. Capt. Brian Kinsella, the commander's aide, acted as the liaison between Alexandre and the State Department and the Department of Defense, which worked with other service members as well to expedite the departure of family members.

Alexandre's family at Fort Knox sent him a video to help him stay focused on his personal mission in Haiti. His four children had never met Lisa, but they were united in their desire for her to join the family. Their video repeated two major themes: their love for their dad and their concern for their half-sister.

"Bring Lisa home with you," they said, "or don't come home!"

Now a veteran of three weeks in the states, Lisa is getting acclimated to Kentucky and her new sixth grade class at Walker Intermediate School. She speaks little English, but her teacher, Betty Youndt, said that wasn't the first concern.

"My first priority was to get her comfortable," Youndt said. "She has a student counselor - which we assign to all new students to help them learn their way around. Lisa's counselor is Dominique Tarr."

"She's really shy," Tarr said. "She understands a lot of what we say (other students), but when the teacher gives the class instructions, she only gets a few words. Then she asks me what it's all about."

The school discovered a free translation Web site that allows a person to type a question into the computer in English. It's then translated into French for Lisa to read. She types in her French response, then pushes the "translate" button which converts her phrases into English.

"Initially, all of our communication was through technology," Youndt said. "But she's doing beautifully."

Through the Web site translation tool, Lisa said she likes school, and her favorite part of it is Dominique. She didn't have access to a computer in Haiti, so she's taking keyboard classes and improving quickly.

"She's very quiet, still reluctant to speak with adults," Youndt said, "but I think her English is better than she's letting on. She talks more with kids her age."

The teachers have labeled many of the classroom objects with French and English words to help Lisa find her way around and to facilitate her English vocabulary.

Youndt initially said that Lisa's brother, a fifth grader, would look out for her and pick her up after classes; she would just wander in the hallways otherwise. Now, however, she goes to his room to pick him up after class in true big sister fashion.

There are many adjustments for Lisa, but the language issue is probably central. She tried to watch her favorite TV shows with the closed captions in French, but Alexandre wouldn't allow it.

"Watch in English," he emphasized.

When she pouted about the TV, Alexandre asked her if she would rather be in Haiti. She quickly said, "No, I want to live here."

"I owe a lot to (3rd ESC commander) Col. (Robin) Akin," Alexandre said. "She's really concerned with Soldier issues. She's awesome.

"I can't start naming the names of everyone who helped me, the list would be so long.

"My unit put in a lot of legwork to put me there (with the 3rd ESC) so I could take care of my Family. There are no words to express it. I'm so grateful to have my family together."

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