OKLAHOMA CITY — An organization of service members’ mothers and the chaplains at Fort Sill U.S. Army Post in Lawton have been providing comfort, activities, and companionship to soldiers there over the holidays.
Blue Star Mothers, an historic and still very active organization of mothers of service members, have teamed up with the post’s chaplains to make sure that young soldiers who are still on post over the holidays can have activities and companionship over the holidays when so many of their fellow soldiers have gone home on leave.
And, the chaplains at the post organized families in Lawton who gladly agreed to “adopt” a soldier on Christmas Day so they would have some place else besides the barracks to be on that day when the post is so uncommonly quiet.
“I think the biggest thing that we see is just that emotional strain of not being with family,” Chaplain Major McCarley told Free Press as the soldiers were going through the museum. “Being able to get them out of Fort Sill or wherever they’re stationed [is important] so they’re not just sitting there with nothing to do.”
“And then we don’t want the thoughts getting, you know, feeling bad for themselves, or whatever it may be,” McCarley continued.
Day in OKC
On one of those days, Edmond Area Blue Star Mothers, OK8 Chapter of Blue Star Mothers, helped fund and chaperone a day-long field trip to several attractions in Oklahoma City metro on December 18.
First up was the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
As multiple busloads of the soldiers disembarked, some were still on crutches, and one was in a wheelchair healing from injuries sustained in the training process.
Others just couldn’t go home for other reasons.
Blue Star Mothers
Free Press talked with Melody Hughes, Vice President of the Edmond Area Blue Star Mothers, about the events of that day that they sponsored.
“So during the holidays, it’s really hard,” Hughes said. “And these soldiers are in training … and they can’t go home. So this affords them an opportunity to have a day away from the base, enjoy good food, fellowship, and learn about Oklahoma City.”
Hughes said that their chapter and Blue Star Mothers nationally support the service member loved ones of the members by providing the shipping of packages from family members to service members overseas.
“When my son was in Iraq, we mailed 200 packages to Iraq,” said Hughes. “And they were there for Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
She also said that locally, they provide support for veterans who are in the VA Hospital.
Exploring the bombing Memorial and Museum
The soldiers were walked to the area under the “9:03” end of the Memorial to sing songs of tribute to those who were killed in the 1995 bombing, including the service members who had recruiting offices in the building.
After singing, the soldiers stood in reverence for those who were killed.
Once in the museum, all the soldiers grew quiet and thoughtful as they explored the horrible outcome of extremism and domestic terrorism.
The power of the heinous act that led to the tragedy of the Oklahoma City Bombing did not seem to be lost on the young service members many of whom picked a room of special interest and sat down to listen carefully to the first-person accounts given on film.
In all, 168 people in the building were killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, including 19 children in the day care that was in the basement of the building.
Free Press asked several of the soldiers if they wanted to comment but all who we asked refused, seeming to be so deeply moved they didn’t want to speak.
Lighter activities later in day
The soldiers started the day with their most somber of stops. Afterward, the activities were lighter and intended for interest and fun.
- Devon Tower to eat
- 45th Infantry Museum
- Science Museum of Oklahoma
- Eat at Incredible Pizza
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
