By: David Strom

Like many volunteers to the American Red Cross, Robert Hergert’s first contact was donating his blood at a local blood drive back in 2019. That led to his becoming a Blood Donor Ambassador where he lives in Leavenworth, Kansas which is part of the Greater Kansas City and Northwest Missouri chapter. “It started to grow on me, and I was interested in stepping up to doing more than just donating my blood.” If that city is familiar, it is also the location of a major Army base since the 1820s. These ambassadors do everything but draw the actual blood itself, including checking donors in, dispensing snacks and beverages, and registering them for their next donation.

From the ambassador position he added a second volunteer gig to support the efforts at the Military Entrance Processing Station in Kansas City, which he can do on a weekly basis since he is retired. There are 50 of these stations around the country -- our region has them in St. Louis and in Little Rock as well. This is where new inductees get their Army physicals and various other pre-service tests and meet with guidance counselors to pick their specialty.

Hergert briefs parents of military members who are about to begin their tours of duty on emergency communications, along with answering questions about what they can expect when their family members are deployed. “The key here is that it isn't just communicating with the soldier’s family. It’s the family reaching out to bring their son or daughter home in times of emergency,” he said. “Sometimes, a soldier returns to another community that isn’t where they grew up or lived, so we help reorient them to their new circumstances.”

Part of these briefings involves the various types of financial assistance available. “The Red Cross works with military aid societies to provide a grant or loan if the family would need that to help their son or daughter get home. That grant or loan can be used for a round-trip airline ticket, and could be also used for food, clothing or shelter. It can be used for funeral arrangements or any number of things,” he said.

Hergert has a long military background, having served as an Army recruiter for 11 of his 25 years of active duty that began with Junior ROTC in high school, which was a graduation requirement of his public school. “The longer I served, the more I enjoyed it. I got started with the Army at a very young age and it turned into a really good experience.”

Part of his Army service was being in Germany for five years in the 1970s. Unfortunately, that was during the outbreak of Mad Cow disease, which disqualified him from any Red Cross donations at that time and for several years afterwards. “If you lived anywhere in Europe, you couldn’t donate because you could pass an infection through your blood.” Now that that restriction has been lifted, Hergert helps to spread the word. “So I have to remind people that they are eligible to donate now, especially for people of my age.” He also helps with high school blood drives in four surrounding counties and averages working at least one drive per week.

“The impact of the Red Cross is great, I just wish we could get more people to donate blood. Encouraging these blood donations and providing blood across the country and around the world is a very important role for the Red Cross,” he said. “People ask me what I do now that I’m retired. I tell them I’m living the dream.”

If you would like to learn more about the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces, please visit https://www.redcross.org/about-us/our-work/military-families.html

If you would like to learn more about blood donations, please visit https://www.redcrossblood.org/