Saving a Baby, An Airborne Story

Many may wonder what our Warriors of the 82nd AIRBORNE are doing in Haiti.  Here is one of many stories of the kind of metal and compassion our Warriors are made of. 

Saving A Baby

Our next destination is a large warehouse building that the team of soldiers believe to be a camp for people left homeless by the earthquake. As we approach the building, we make our way through the front gate and around the side of the warehouse. You can see an abandoned car off in the distance and plenty of dust floating around in this secluded courtyard. Sergeant White enters the warehouse with a few men to see how many people are there, while other soldiers wait outside.

As I stand there watching the scene unfold, a woman holding a baby comes up to me and tugs on my jacket and points to her baby. I wasn�t sure what she needed until I shined the flashlight in her direction and could immediately what was wrong -- her baby�s foot was horribly infected. In my best high school French, I tell her to wait for the doctor, or in this case, the platoon medic, to come back out of the warehouse, along with our translator. Our translator (see separate article) actually grew up in Haiti and later joined the Airborne after he moved to the United States. We learn from the baby�s mother that a piece of concrete fell on the baby�s foot and it had become infected. With crowds of people standing around watching and with several flashlights lighting the way, the medic washes the baby�s foot and then puts on some antibiotic ointment and some bandages.

Then the translator explained to the woman how to change the bandages and the medic gave her some replacement gauze to put on the wound.  As the baby was in a great deal of pain, one of the soldiers next to me took out a surgical glove and turned it into a balloon to give the child.  As he handed the child the five fingered balloon that looked like a blue bird, the baby instantly enjoyed the new toy.  When the soldier explained that it was a �poulet� or chicken, then the entire crowd started laughing, along with the baby.

This story stolen without permission from the Releigh Telegram.  For this and many other AIRBORNE/Haiti stories clik here

God Bless our troops.
Pops.