Fisher Home families receive 'taste' of home

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Sarayuth Pinthong
  • 86th Airlift Wing/ Public Affairs
Ramstein Air Base, Germany --  Members of the Kaiserslautern Military Community gave a few hours of their time to bring just a bit of home to families staying at the Fisher House at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, March 20. Volunteers from the KMC 5/6 organization, along with other units, provided meals from their own kitchens to the families and patients staying at the Fisher House.

The day started with collecting food from volunteers at the rally point in front of the bowling center at Ramstein Air Base. Though the unexpected rainfall put a damper on many things around the community, it didn't stop members like Staff Sgt. Angelica Kaylor, U.S. Air Forces in Europe Allied Air Component Command Headquarter, from pressing forward with the day's plan.

"Our mission is to get to know the stories of those who are staying there and get familiar with the Fisher Houses," said Sergeant Kaylor, vice president of the 5/6 and CC Air HQ team council Fisher House Liaison. "We want to try and get involved with what they do and provide a hearty meal for those staying there."

Not everyone followed the convoy of cars to the Fisher House; some just dropped off an assortment of dishes. Others, like Staff Sgt. Caress Baltimore, 603rd Air Operations Center, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Division, wanted to give just a bit more of her time.

"I was extremely enthusiastic and surprised at the number of individuals that showed up to bring their food, " said Sergeant Baltimore. "I was excited to see so many people stop what they were doing on their Saturday and drop off food they had spent time cooking or purchasing."

After all meals were delivered, the volunteers loaded up their cars, now full of the aroma of a hearty feast, and headed towards their destination - the Fisher House.

The volunteers unloaded their delivery one after another. The kitchen of the Fisher House soon became filled with an assortment of dishes and desserts. The meals consisted from a whole roast to the most simple, yet heartfelt, tray of cookies.

"The variety of food is really amazing. There's something here for everybody," said Karen Williams-Clarkson from Fairbanks, Alaska. "There's even something for my grandson."

Mrs. Williams-Clarkson is the mother of a fallen U.S. Army Soldier staying at the Fisher House, along with her family of five, waiting to escort her son home.

Sometimes simple decisions like where to go for food or what to eat is too complicated because of constant medical attention needed or simply moments of sadness. Though not every family came downstairs to meet the volunteers and receive food, those that did were greatly appreciative.

"We're a grieving family as oppose to a recovering family," said Mrs. Williams-Clarkson. "It's amazing to have the support because we don't have time to cook. We're all grieving now so eating is difficult and having an opportunity to not have to worry about that part of our lives really makes things much easier for us."

For others, like Air Force Veteran Herbert Peck, seeing familiar faces after repeated visits to the Fisher House gives him something to look forward to.

"I've been around the Air Force for a long time," said Mr. Peck, who joined in 1947 when the Air Force was still part of the Army Air Corps. "The people are just wonderful. I can't praise them enough for bringing in the food. Whenever my wife and I are here we try to thank everybody. But tonight was just outstanding; you just couldn't thank everybody enough."

Mr. Peck, currently living in Turkey and is on his fourth visit to the Fisher House.

The lack of family members willing to leave their rooms didn't damper the spirit of the
volunteers. It was understandable that some families did not want to see visitors, but food will still be there for them to eat after everyone leaves.

"Some people are shy and don't want to come down," said Sergeant Kaylor during her short brief on the Fisher House operations. "All I can say is that they really do appreciate what we've done for them and the best time to see the appreciation is lunch time. It really puts a person's life in perspective. It fills my day with joy being able to share the life story of the families."

"I was happy I could help out," said Sergeant Baltimore. "I heard one of the couples staying at the house say that they wouldn't be able to eat all of that. The comment makes me feel good knowing that they weren't concerning themselves with not knowing what to eat tonight because of what may be happening in their lives at the time."

The Fisher House of Landstuhl is made up of two homes containing rooms for 21 families. Meals provided by organization like the 5/6 is just one of many volunteer services conducted by military members throughout the KMC.

"We are most grateful to the KMC 5/6 and to the CC Air HQ for their continued support in the way of providing wonderful 'home cooked' meals for our Fisher House families," said Vivian Wilson, LRMC Fisher House manager. "It warms the heart to see the compassion and kindness that our military community provides to those during their time of need."