Last week I was reminded of the power of friendship during our final day in Hawaii. After our presentation a young boy came up to me and thanked me profusely for coming to his school and helping them with their feelings. He was fighting back tears so hard he was trembling.

“I really miss my dad,” he said, his bottom lip quivering. “He’s been deployed so many times. And he’s gone again. I’m scared he may get hurt or…or …(deep painful sigh)… or he may never come back.”

A lone tear escaped, without permission, from his welling eyes.

“It just hurts so much,” he said, quickly rubbing the tear from his cheek and glancing around to make sure none of his classmates had seen him cry. “It really hurts.”

I crouched down and looked directly into his eyes and said, “I’m proud of you man. It takes a brave person to express their real feelings, like you’re doing right now, especially in front of friends and classmates. It takes a lot of courage. Seriously.”

He cocked his head. “For real?”

“I sometime cry when I’m hurting,” I said. “And I’m a grown man, dude.”

“You do?”

“Uh huh.” I replied.

The Power of Friendship

And then the tears came. Oh my goodness. Big painful tears spilled from the little guys eyes and rolled down his ruddy cheeks framed by his long, tousled, hair.

You could instantly see the relief on his face. Such relief. It was amazing.

Then something remarkable happened.

His buddy (a River Phoenix look-alike) who was standing next to him, put his arm around the boy and said, “It’s okay. You helped me when my dad was gone. I’ll help you. Okay?”

The crying boy nodded.

“I’m with you all the way,” said the other boy, patting him on the back and putting his arm around him again. “I’m with you all the way.”

I said goodbye to the boys and went back to the stage to get my bag. I didn’t realize I was crying until a little girl, who was also in the presentation, handed me a crumpled up Kleenex and smiled, knowingly.

(Thanks Woody Englander for capturing the scene with your camera as the kids walked back to class and thanks, to my social work sidekick, Stephanie, for helping us make the first leg of our tour such a great success.)

Read more about the event and how you can participate

Fort Bragg

Originally established as Camp Bragg 1918, Fort Bragg now covers 251 square miles and is the home to US Army Airborne Forces and Special Forces.

With an estimated 55,000 military personnel, and close to 10,000 civilians, by population Fort Bragg is the largest US Army installation.  There are 8 schools and over 11,000 families on post.

In September, Trevor had the opportunity to visit with military children at Shughart Elementary and Middle Schools, in Fort Bragg, NC. Trevor spoke about deployment and physical and emotional injuries.

For more pictures from this With You All the Way USO Tour stop, check out the USO’s Facebook page.

Yuma, Arizona is home to two military installations: Marie Corps Air Station Yuma and the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground.

Originally built in 1928, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma has been in use for over 50 years and is home to the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) and Marine Aircraft Group 13.  With 2.8 million acres for aviation training and year round flying weather, MCAS Yuma is the busiest air station in the Marine Corps.  The base is supported by over 4,000 military personnel with almost 7,000 family members.

Comprised of over 1,300 square miles, The U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground is one of the largest military installations in the world.  The proving ground includes a 40 mile artillery range, over 200 miles of road courses, mock villages and road networks, and a mine and demolition test facility.  The base is supported by over 1,700 active duty soldiers and civilian personnel, but the base is visited by over 20,000 personnel yearly for testing.

We were priviledged to speak with military children at three area schools: James D. Price Elementary, Palmcroft Elementary, and Ronald Reagan Elementary School.

Fort Campbell

Covering over 100 thousand acres, Fort Campbell is located in both Tennessee and Kentucky.  It has been an active Army post since 1941, with soldiers deploying from the post to serve in World War II, Vietnam, and currently in Afghanistan and Iraq.  and is currently the home of the 101st Airborne Division, also known as the “Screaming Eagles,” whose service during Wold War II was made famous by HBO’s Band of Brothers.

There are over 30,000 service members on post, and with almost 4,000 families call the post home.  There are seven schools on post.  Even more families live off post.  In the surrounding schools, military children represent a significant percentage of students, especially in the Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee areas.

During the With You All the Way USO Tour, we were able to speak with military children about dealing with deployment as well as bullying.

Fun Facts

Campbell Army Airfield is the Army’s largest airfield, covering 2,500 acres.  The airfield served as a secondary landing site for the National Aeronautics & Space Administration and the space shuttle.

The TV show “Coming Home” which spotlights service members who surprise their families and children in a unique way after returning home from a deployment, has mainly been filmed in Fort Campbell, KY.

The 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell was the first conventional unit to deploy in support of the American War on Terrorism.

Fort Stewart

Covering almost 280,000 acres, Fort Stewart is the largest Army installation east of the Mississippi, and it is one of the busiest.  In 1967, Hunter Army Airfield became a subordinate installation of Fort Stewart. Both Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield serve almost 21,000 soldiers and 30,000 family members, and over 3,500 civilians.

As of August, 2011, there were 1,195 soldiers deployed out of Fort Stewart.

Almost 700 soldiers from the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, will deploy late Fall 2011 in support of Operation New Dawn in Iraq. The Division headquarters element recently completed their previous deployment to Iraq in November, 2010.

There are three elementary schools on post:

• Brittin Elementary School
• Diamond Elementary School
• Kessler Elementary School

Most Middle and High School students attend these schools off-post attend Liberty County Schools.  Students living on Hunter AAF attend Savannah/Chatham County Schools.

Fun Facts about Fort Stewart:

The post is home to the 3rd Infantry Division, also known as the “Dog Face Soldiers.”

Fort Stewart is home to the only living memorial to service members.  Called the Warrior’s Walk, a row of eastern redbud trees are planted along the parade field for each service member who gave their life for their country.

Fort Stewart began as an anti-aircraft artillery training center in 1940, preparing and deploying many well trained troops to virtually all theater’s of operation during WWII. The post also served as a POW Camp for German and Italian prisoners.

Fort Jackson

For the With You All The Way USO Tour stop at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, we were able to meet with several hundred children of service members, and Trevor talked about Bullying dealing with deployments.

There are over 18,000 service members and family members that call Fort Jackson home year round. Named for Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, Fort Jackson is located in Columbia, South Carolina.

Fun Facts:

• Fort Jackson is both the largest and busiest Initial Entry Training Center in the U.S. Army.  50 percent of all Soldiers and 80 percent of the women entering the Army are trained at Fort Jackson each year.
• The post recently celebrated its 94^th birthday.  Initially founded in 1917 to support the Army in WWI, the post has been active for WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• On May 6, 2010, the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Center was dedicated at Fort Jackson, making the post home to the US Army Chaplain Center  and School,  the Naval Chaplains School, and the Air Force Chaplain Service Institute.
• Fort Jackson is home of the Army’s only Drill Sergeant School.

“““““““““`

I wanted to write and thank the USO for making Trevor’s visit to our schools possible.

Yesterday at our Ft. Jackson schools, the students were laughing out of their seats and the teachers were fighting back tears. Trevor has a way of connecting with children that is amazing and treasured. He also is a fantastic motivator for teachers.

I believe our teachers walked away re-energized and our students walked away with valuable tools to help with life’s ups and downs!

Nicole R. O. Pangelinan
DODEA Americas; SC/Ft. Stewart/DoDDS Cuba District

]]> http://trevorromainfoundation.org/2011/08/02/with-you-all-the-way-tour-profile-fort-jackson/feed/ 0 http://trevorromainfoundation.org/2011/07/29/ramstein_air_base/ http://trevorromainfoundation.org/2011/07/29/ramstein_air_base/#comments Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:00:24 +0000 Cuzzie http://trevorromainfoundation.org/?p=1502

Ramstein Air Base

The visit to Ramstein Air Base marked the official launch of the With You All The Way USO Tour.  Ramstein is part of the Kaiserslautern Military Community, which is the largest community of Americans in Europe, and with 11 schools and almost 8,000 students, it is the largest school district outside the continental United States.

Children at Ramstein were also the first to receive comfort kits with Cuzzie!

The Ramstein Schools are:

• Ramstein Elementary School (K-3)
• Vogelweh Elementary School (K-5)
• Kaiserslautern Elementary School (K-5)
• Sembach Elementary and Middle (K-8)
• Landstuhl Elementary & Middle (K-8)
• Ramstein Intermediate School (4-6)
• Kaiserslautern Middle School (6-8)
• Ramstein Junior High School (7-9)
• Kaiserslautern High School (9-12)
• Ramstein High School (10-12)

Fast Facts About Ramstein Air Base:

• Ramstein Air Base is located in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz, and is home to the 86th Airlift Wing.
• Ramstein serves as headquarters for U.S. Air Forces in Europe and is also a North Atlantic Treaty Organization installation. This means that besides Americans, the installation’s population is comprised of Canadian, German, British, French, Belgian, and Dutch forces.
• Its role in Europe and Africa has included war-fighting as well as humanitarian and peacekeeping operations.
• Every fallen service member from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan stops in Ramstein prior to coming home to their families.
• The Ramstein Terminal USO is the busiest USO in the world.
• Ramstein is the home to more than 54,000 service members.