After the first tornado struck Alabama, West Point Private Cadet Tom Holloway, a 19-year-old resident of Birmingham reached out to his mother concerned his hometown had been struck. After being reassured his family and friends were safe, Cadet Holloway came up with the idea to take leave from West Point and head to Alabama to assist in the recovery effort. “My neighbor linked up with a man named Tom Deshazo, a local Birmingham Red Cross volunteer, who reached out to headquarters,” said Cadet Holloway. “When I heard from Tom that I was approved, I felt honored. He said it was a pleasure to have me; knowing I was coming back to Birmingham to help my hometown has made this much more meaningful.”
On Wednesday, May 18, after being processed as a spontaneous volunteer, Cadet Holloway joined a team who delivered meals to a community that had been affected by the tornado. “We traveled to Boaz, about two hours from Birmingham, where we located the residents and personally distributed approximately 250 meals,” said Cadet Holloway.
It was on Thursday, May 19 that Cadet Holloway was dispatched with the American Red Cross’s Integrated Care Team, a group of emotional, spiritual and health workers who have been making contact throughout the state with residents affected by the storms. “For each client we would see, a client case worker would sit with that family and assess their immediate needs, oftentimes as she filled out paperwork a nurse would step in,” said Cadet Holloway. “The nurse would talk with the client determining their physical and emotional needs. When the nurse and case worker were finished, the Chaplain sat in. He was more interpersonal with the clients, no papers, no pen, just talking one-on-one in an in-depth, interpersonal manner,” said Cadet Holloway.
One family in Eclectic, AL struck a chord with Cadet Holloway. “We were visiting a man who, prior to the tornado, had financial and emotional stress, along with custody of his young niece and nephew,” said Cadet Holloway. “When the tornado hit, his sister-in-law died. Talking with him, he was as legit as he could be with his losses and doing the best he could to take care of his family.” In a store the man partially owned, Cadet Holloway reminisced how the man opened up the doors and “the place looked like a thrift store. With all his difficulties he was facing, loss of a family member, bills mounting and insurance running out, he was helping everyone in the community. He was paying up to $100 an hour to transport the donated items to other families in need. You could tell he was doing really well by his demeanor. His niece and nephew had obvious signs of PTSD and he was there for them.”
“I came in with my eyes wide open and few expectations,” said Cadet Holloway. “I was immediately struck by the size of the operations headquarters and the organization within. There was this buzz of activity.” He quickly learned that behind every Red Cross operation there is an immense amount of highly trained people who have unique abilities and skills. “When I walked in, I was impressed by the welcome I received and was really flattered that so many people responded with such respect to a West Point Cadet.”
With graduation week happening at West Point, Cadet Holloway would have been involved in the ceremonies, but was granted leave. “My classmates were envious, but I’ve been able to go home to help family, friends and my community,” said Cadet Holloway. “I would stay but have family commitments to attend to.”
“I really had no idea what to expect, I thought I would just be thrown out to help rebuild, but walking into headquarters, it was a totally different story,” said Cadet Holloway. “I didn’t realize the level of training and expertise that goes on at the Red Cross; it was definitely like a military operation.”
Carolyn SherwinWestchester Red Cross Volunteer