Photo By Sgt. Felix Acevedo | Campers and staff of Camp Soaring Eagle at Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children...... read more read more
Subscribe
KILLEEN, Texas - A flight crew from 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, landed in the hearts and minds of youngsters attending Camp Soaring Eagle, a camp for kids with neurological disorders, when they landed in the activity field at Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children, here, Aug. 2.
When the Black Hawk crew from Company C, 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment landed, they were warmly welcomed by a large group of children with a multitude of questions.
“Have you killed anyone? Where’s your missiles?” were some of the most common questions asked, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Eric Henwood, a Black Hawk pilot for Company C and the pilot in command for the mission.
The children quickly pointed out switches and buttons in the aircraft with the intent of the aviators explaining how it all worked – not an easy task, said Henwood.
“They were asking specific questions about the aircraft – which is great – but to make it seem easy [to understand] there are helpers around here. They kind of take what I say and translate it,” said the Cadiz, Ohio, native.
At one point, one of the helpers deciphered Henwood’s attempt at explaining the aircraft’s missile defense system.
After a minute of Henwood using technical terms and military lingo, the helper stepped in and said that the bad guys had missiles, but the good guys had missiles that blocked the bad guy’s missiles.
Regardless of whether the children understood the intricacies of the aircraft, Henwood felt the visit was worth the while.
“I think [being here] is great. It shows the kids that … Army personnel just aren’t a figure that they can admire … but they can actually come up, talk to us, ask us questions [and] intermingle,” said Henwood.
“I’ve done static displays before, but nothing as enjoyable as watching the kids smile,” he said.
These particular smiling, special needs kids live with varying levels of neurological disorders, said Melinda Kirkpatrick, the camp director for four years. But they don’t let these disorders limit them at this summer camp.
“It really is just a place where kids can go and just be normal and not [feel like] an inconvenience to anyone,” said Kirkpatrick, who is a certified child life specialist with Scott & White Hospital in the pediatric intensive care unit.
And thanks to PKRC and Scott & White Hospital, there is no cost to the children who attend the activity-packed camp. This particular camp lasts about five days and there is never a dull moment – especially when the 1st ACB lands a helicopter in their back yard.
It was only day two and Kirkpatrick was talking to one of the campers, discussing whether or not her mom would believe all that has happened so far. The child responded that her mom would never believe her, but she had pictures to prove it.
“One of the coolest things about this camp is that you really do see a wide range of kids here and you never ever hear any of them make comments like, ‘Well, why am I at a camp with someone in a wheel chair?,’” said Kirkpatrick.
“They all just come and love on each other and it’s one of the coolest experiences just to see the friendships,” she added.
Since Henwood was a young child he wanted to be a pilot. He would have loved to get a chance to climb in and out of a helicopter like the children at Camp Soaring Eagle, he said.
Even though Henwood flies Black Hawks nearly every day, the reality of such an experience to a youngster is not lost on him.
“To them, this aircraft is three times the size that we think it is. It’s just an amazing experience for someone that young,” said Henwood.
Just as quickly as the Black Hawk came from the pale blue sky, in a cloud of cut grass and dust, it was lifting off to head back home – leaving a sense of wonder in the children and even the adults.
“I’m still trying to figure out if this really happened. That this camp and these kids are special enough and worth enough that [the 1st ACB] would take time out of their day and land in the middle of the field and let [the kids] crawl in their aircraft and just spend time with them, blows my mind,” said Kirkpatrick.
| Date Taken: | 08.02.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.09.2010 12:51 |
| Story ID: | 54216 |
| Location: | KILLEEN, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 36 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, 1st ACB touches down with special needs kids, by SGM Nathan Hoskins, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
