The Cartoon Cure

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tony R. Ritter
  • 435th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  Laughter and smiles filled the room on Thursday as eight members of the National Cartoonist Society visited the 435th Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility on Ramstein Oct. 2. The visit was part of a morale tour sponsored by the USO. 

"The CASF, which operates 24 hours a day and has performed over 85,000 patient movements in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, was glad to open its doors to the NCS members," said Maj. Mark Knitz, CASF flight commander. 

The eight cartoonists brought not only sketch pads and drawing instruments, but also a healing dose of happiness and espirit de corps for the staff and patients. 

"The cartoonists' visit was very therapeutic for us all," said Rebecca Voelker, CASF USO manager, "These professional artists have brought to the CASF a unique form of cure." 

One by one they sat down with patients and began talking with them about family, friends and interests. All the while their pens were busy sketching whimsical characters or cartoonish portraits. Almost instantly, all apprehensions or discomforts that the patients may have been experiencing seemed to melt away as the skilled cartoonists warmed the atmosphere with their kind hearts and infectious humor. Within minutes, every room they visited was painted with red, laughing faces and uncontrollable smiles. 

"Many of us haven't experienced this kind of happiness since we were kids," said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Vatesita Elmore, Headquarters Battery 41st Fires Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas, who was injured in Iraq. "This kind of happiness is good for all of us." 

The cartoonist themselves -- which included a Pulitzer Prize winner, a national characterature franchise owner, a MAD magazine artist, and the artists from popular comic strips like Family Circus and Baby Blues -- were equally inspired by the experience of working with the wounded warriors. 

"We've talked, laughed and cried with them," said Mr. Jeff Keane, President of the NCS and artist of Family Circus. "They've brought us as much joy as we've tried to bring them."
The cartoonists left the CASF a brighter place as they sketched their way into the hearts of its wounded warriors with a little black ink, some paper, and a lot of cartoonish character. 

According to their Web site, the NCS is the world's largest organization of professional cartoonists. It started in 1946 as a group of cartoonists that got together to entertain the troops, and has toured war zones and military installations around the world in cooperation with the USO.