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Our visit in Landstuhl on 13th August 2004
Irene and Manfred Kilp and I we have had an appointment with the Fisher House Landstuhl on the 13th August. Kathy picked us up at the gate. For the Fisher House we brought backpacks and outdoor bags filled with blankets, t-shirts, shorts, underpants, socks, candies, hygiene articles and something to read.
Special Greetings came from all Soldiers Angels see http://www.soldiersangels.com, Patti B., Rosi D. from ID, from the Georgia and their family from CO, Robin B. from Ca and Chris of the 82nd Airborne Division - this is one of the founding members from www.Camp Doha.org. Her unit http://www.hrov.com/panthers/aboutus.htm has been running a website called CampDoha.org since approximately 1997.
These things we brought as gifts for some of the wounded and their families who are staying at the Fisher House. Kathy and her daughter have been so kind to bring phone cards and game cards and they spent this to the wounded soldiers in the hospital too. At first we met Katie J., an injured woman from Iraq. She stays in the Fisher House for more medical treatment. For us she was the first female wounded we met in Landstuhl hospital. Terrible to say that our backpacks have been packed only with things for men! But she was very grateful.
I am so sorry that we couldn’t meet the marines
Sgt Gallagher, Andrew
Lcpl Kanitz, Jeremy
Cpl Johnson, Tyler
PFC Perkins, Preston
Lcpl Tavenner, Travis
Lance Cpl. Richard A. Ross
in the Landstuhl Medical Center personally, because they all are 40 miles from there in another Camp in the south of Landstuhl. So Kathy from the Fisher House looked for the staff nurse Mr. M. and asked him to bring them the backpacks we wanted to give our wounded heroes. It was the same situation as we have been on Good Friday in Landstuhl and another wounded soldier was outside from the hospital for medical treatment. So a soldier told us that Mr. M. will bring the backpacks with so many “Get Well Soon” greetings from the Soldiers Angels to the marines tomorrow. I am so sad that I couldn’t give these gifts personally to our wounded heroes. As a German I cannot go without an American to an American base here in Germany. I will say many thanks to the family from Georgia for the blankets and other goodies for the marines. Thank you so much for the greetings to the marines. I made prints from all this.
Marine Sgt. Andrew Gallagher, 21, of Phoenix, was in the Cash to have shards of glass removed from his eyes. He was in a humvee near Fallujah when a roadside bomb went off. He was the only one who injured in the vehicle. His face is peppered with tiny black marks, and his eyes show a deep red.
Lance Cpl. Jeremy K. Kanitz (left) from Company K, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, has received from Gen. Peter Pace, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a Purple Heart medal for wounds caused by the enemy.
Lance Cpl. Richard A. Ross (right), assigned to Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, has received from Gen. Peter Pace, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pins on a Purple Heart medal for wounds caused received in combat by the enemy, too. Here read the article: http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/lookupstoryref/200486103316
I am very grateful to LtCol Willy Buhl, CO, 3d Bn., 1st Marines for this open letter which I received with help of my friend Fred Guldbrandsen, New Hampshire, a member of the US Army Reserve. Many thanks to Sergeant Ray O., HQ CO 1st Mar RGT, 3rd Bn 1st Mar DADD, Camp Pendleton, for giving me the opportunity about to do this.
SPC Chris G., 3-4 Field Artillery or 2-35 Infantry I couldn’t meet too. But he will also receive his backpack with help of Mr. M.and Lynette, from Point Pleasant, New Jersey, told me that Sgt. Tori P. informed her about the transport of his best friend who will be shipped out to Landstuhl on the 15th August.
Sara and Anne Maria asked me to visit Lance Cpl. Richard A. Ross, assigned to Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. I couldn’t meet him too, but he will receive his backpack from Mr. M.
After the organisation of all this, we now went to the hospital and the wards with Kathy. On the parking lot we met a young soldier from Baumholder, from the 1st AD. He was sitting in a wheelchair and a lady carried him. We gave him a backpack and he told as that he has been shot in his stomach. He looks so nervous, I found. He was full of pain. I told him about my connections from the 1st AD from Wiesbaden and that we are often on the airfield too.
Now we took all our backpacks and outdoor bags and we went with Kathy to our Heroes into hospital. Manfred gave to the nurses and staff German/American cooking bocks and a nice joke book from Georgia. They all do a great job for the wounded there. Another joke book form Georgia went to the Fisher House.
As we went to the first ward a nurse transported a wounded with his bed to another ward. We gave him a backpack and we told the nurse to explain him that, if he needs something from the Soldiers Angels, we will help.
In one room we met a young lady waiting for her brother. So we gave her a cooking book for herself and one for the wife of her brother and a backpack for her brother too. She was so surprised to see visitors in the hospital who bring greetings and gifts to the wounded.
Deborah wrote me from Holland not long ago that her brother, a soldier from Washington National Guard's 81st Brigade Combat Team is wounded in Iraq and she does not know something about him. She asked me for help. Kathy told me that his family is staying in the Fisher House.
Another soldier SPC McCune was very seriously injured on 04 Aug when the vehicle in which he was riding was hit by an explosive device, while on routine patrol in Baghdad. He as 1st Lt. O. was immediately treated in Iraq and evacuated to Germany. SPC McCune died of his wounds in Landstuhl, Germany on 05 Aug. He is the sixth member of the 81st BCT to die since the unit deployed to Iraq.
1st Lt. O. from the 1-3o3 AR, 81st BGD. Scout Platoon had more luck. So we visited him today. His wife was with him in the hospital. As we entered his room and I told him from his sister’s letter a few days before and that she asked me for help to find him. He looked at me and his eyes became greater and greater. I told him that Manfred, Irene and I have come to visit him and we will give him greetings from so muck people from the Soldiers Angels and CampDoha and that we have a backpack for him. He has taken my hand and you could see that he was so deeply moved. There have been tears in his eyes. This was a great moment for us both! He looked so glad for to know that he is not alone - and other people are worry about him! I found no words – in this moment I cannot tell you how much I have sympathised with him. He will next go to Walter Reed and I will ask Peggy if she can look further for him. Thank you very much for all the greetings you have sent to me!
We could see that wounded from Washington State have been in the hospital. This day we visited more soldiers who have lost limbs. To loose a hand or an arm is a very terrible thing, so that life changes for them forever. Soldier N. was lying in the bed and it seemed he has got a lot of medicals against his pains. Someone of the staff was looking for him. So I could show him his backpack, but it was not impossible to understand his words.
Soldier St. from Washington State, lying in the same room, has lost his right arm. He seemed to be in a normal mood and not in the mind to give up. He was a fighter, you could see it. Kathy told him if he is going further to another hospital his family could stay at any time in any Fisher House. The Fisher House is a great thing. Families have there the opportunity to stay by there love ones.
Soldier M. was an older soldier with a lot of experiences. He told us that he was over 20 years in the army. He is lefty and he has had a lot of luck. By driving a car in Iraq anybody shot in his right hand and wounded him heavy! But as a lefthander he was able to help himself a lot. He will go tomorrow to Walter Reed for a few days and further to Washington State for medical treatment. Since February 2004 he has been in the Iraq and he is happy to go home now. He was so grateful that he was alive after such an attack.
As we talked to a wounded, a few minutes later an administrator from Hospital spoke with us in German language. He told us how great it is what the Soldiers Angels are doing there. He was visiting the wounded in the hospital too. So I gave him business cards from the Soldiers Angels and me and he wants to tell the wounded from us and that we come as much as we can for to help them.
Kathy told me that Marine Sgt. Mason P. he is the son of, SSG Joe P., Jr. (Ret. Army Airborne) and his wife is on the way to recover, but very fast. I met them both last time I was in Fisher House. Sgt. P. continues to make slow, steady progress, and will be undergoing additional surgery on his legs in the near future. This young Marine is determined to walk again! Isn’t it wonderful!
If you are interested to read more about Landstuhl, look at the very interesting article:
Thank you for reading this.
Wilhelmine Aufmkolk, Germany
"May No Soldier Go Unloved“
e-mail: JosephineFS@aol.com
Links to the other Wilhelmine Aufmkolk articles:
1st Visit
2nd Visit
3rd Visit
4th Visit
