Red Crosser Supports Fellow Service Members after 20 Years of Military Service

Sean Day came to the American Red Cross after 20 years of service in the U.S. Army. A job posting for a Hero Care Center in Lawton, Oklahoma caught his eye while on retirement leave in 2019. It was not his first brush with the Hero Care Network. He received an emergency communication while stationed in Germany.

"I remember when I was in Germany and getting a Red Cross message in regard to my grandfather's illness. I was able to come back to the States and see him before he passed," he says.

When a military family experiences a medical emergency or significant life event like a death in the family or the birth of a child, they can relay the news to their service members even when deployed to secure locations, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, either online, on the phone or through the app. When a case is open, specialists like Sean will contact medical personnel to verify the event and liaise with the soldier's command to get that member home. It's a role that Sean says is both fun and challenging, and where no two days are the same.

"Working at the Hero Care Center gives me a sense of accomplishment − it just gives me something that I want to wake up and do every day, to get out there and help service members and their families get their service members home, whether it be good news or bad news," Sean shared.

Having the chance to come home and be with family while his grandfather passed is an experience that Sean draws on frequently now that he's on the other end of the phone.

"For me, working on this side of the American Red cross after receiving that Red Cross message in the past, I see how much work goes into trying to get a verified Red Cross message. I mean, there's times that we're dealing with a doctor's office for two, three, four days in a row, sometimes a week, just trying to get the information we need."

Sean works at Hero Care Center in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, the nation's largest facility of its kind, receiving over 317,000 calls each year. And the American Red Cross is the only agency that can officially verify an emergency.

"Every case that we're able to help somebody, it always makes me feel good," he said. "So, whether that be just to try and get somebody home to see their child's birth or whether it be to bring somebody home so they can, you know, say the last goodbyes to grandpa - it definitely makes you feel good."

NATIONAL DONORS JOIN LONG LEGACY OF RED CROSS MILITARY SUPPORTGenerous donations from Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces Giving Program members enable the Red Cross to maintain a global network of thousands of volunteers and employees to support the military 365 days a year through emergency communications, training, community resources and support to ill and injured service members and veterans. Contributions from partners like Bank of America, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Wilf Family Foundations ensure the Red Cross is there 24/7 to provide comfort and care to members of the military, veterans and their families as they prepare for, cope with and respond to the challenges of military service.