By: Red Cross Volunteer Tara Prakash

Assisting a patient at the Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center on Fort Meade often means providing them with a wheelchair or showing them how to use the prescription kiosk. Other times, it is simpler: a bottle of water, a candy bar and the act of listening. “I just love helping people,” said James Gilbert, a Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program volunteer. “I get more out of it than they do, I’m sure.”

Gilbert is a retired U.S. Army sergeant major. As the center’s clinic coordinator, Gilbert spends most of his day on his feet, overseeing volunteers and supporting the patients who come through the clinic. His dedication recently earned him the Public Service Commendation Medal, presented by Fort Meade Installation Commander Col. Yolanda Gore. He was one of nine individuals recognized for exceptional public service, a service that often takes shape in small, everyday interactions with patients.

Older patients, Gilbert said, are especially happy to have someone to talk to. “We tell them to have a seat while they wait and we talk to them,” he recalled. “By the end, they’ll say, ‘Thank you. I miss talking to a human being.’ Many of these people live by themselves.”

Gilbert said volunteering has helped him, too. After his wife passed away seven years ago, he immersed himself in volunteer work, where he found community. In addition to the Red Cross, Gilbert also donates his time to the USO at BWI Airport and the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir.

Gilbert served in the Army for 29 years, and he easily finds common ground with younger service members who come through the clinic. “I’ll say, ‘I was overseas at this place,’ and they’ll tell me some of the things they’ve been through,” he explained. “I’m able to have those tough conversations with them.”

Gilbert has learned never to make assumptions about the people who walk through the clinic doors. “We can’t assume because someone is older that they don’t know what they’re doing,” he said. “When I teach them something, I tell them, ‘OK, I understand you haven’t done this before. Let me show you. It’ll be easy, and I’ll be right beside you.’ Afterward, they look at me and say ‘Wow, that wasn’t hard.’ The next time they come in, they say, ‘Can you help me again?’ and I say, ‘I’m going to have you do it yourself, because I won’t always be here when you come in.’”

Present in all of Gilbert’s interactions is gentleness and warmth, and an understanding that each patient is, first and foremost, a human being.

Gilbert is 74. Every morning, he runs five miles around his Maryland neighborhood. Then, he heads to Fort Meade. What keeps him coming back? His answer is simple: the people. “It makes me happy,” he said. “To interact with those who come in, to smile and welcome them, is just a good feeling.”

Gilbert’s passion for connecting with people began long before he joined the Red Cross. After a military recruiter visited the radio station where he worked, he enlisted in the Army, spending much of his time in public affairs as a broadcaster. He often jokes with younger service members that his job was a bit like Robin Williams’ character in Good Morning, Vietnam, an analogy that usually makes them laugh and puts them at ease. The people skills Gilbert now brings to every volunteer shift have been shaped by years of communicating with soldiers, teaching others and working with the public.

Service was also something he shared with his wife, who volunteered with the Red Cross while Gilbert was in the military. After nearly three decades in the Army, now he serves patients, veterans and soldiers through his volunteer work. His career of service never ended; it simply changed form.

“People ask me, ‘When are you going to stop serving? When are you going to take time for yourself?’” Gilbert said. “Well, this is time for myself.”