Taking care. That’s what Donnette “Dee” Dodwell does.

She’s on a mission of caring. As the Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) director for the Nevada/Utah region for the past four years, Dee knows how service to others, whether it be in the military or the community, can change a person. And she understands how historic events can change a person. September 11, 2001, changed Dee. This is her story.

A farm girl with a can-do spirit, Dee joined the military in 1990. Her family had a long history of military service, but she was the first one to join the Air Force. The military became a passion, and Dee enjoyed a 26-year career. But it wasn’t without its challenges as she explains. “I was one woman out of 150 men. I had to prove myself every day. I was a strong North Dakota farm girl. I could drive everything. It was tough, and not an easy time.”

She was stationed in Germany and began to work her way up. “I got all my required licenses to drive various military vehicles. It made some of the guys mad.” Her skills and abilities were further tested as a munition’s inspector and builder. “We built bombs. Anything explosive we touched. It was an amazing career.”

Her first brush with the American Red Cross occurred while she was stationed In Germany. She received a Red Cross communication regarding the death of her cousin, whom she considered her best friend. “I couldn’t afford a phone to take any calls, so the notification was done through the Red Cross. I got home after that within 48 hours.”

Dee was well into her military career when September 11, 2001, rolled around. “I was at a bomber base, Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, South Dakota. Bombers are the first priority. We all ran over to another building and watched the towers come down on television. We were astounded.” Dee explained that they went into “Delta,” which means 4-5 hours to get on base. “I had to find a place for my son to stay My husband had been gone for 4 months on a temporary assignment. Luckily, I had good friends.”

Back on her family’s farm, Dee’s brother was doing fall harvest. He pulled off the field and brought their mom to see Dee before she deployed.

And then there was her grandma Alice. “Grandma Alice called me…biggest Norwegian woman you’ve ever met. She called to tell me how proud she was. I remember that call. She said I remember Pearl Harbor, and I couldn’t be there. But you’re doing what I wanted to.”

She said goodbye to her son and Dee’s team flew out the next day; part of the first combat mission post 911. It took days to get to the location of her assignment in the middle East; a location that she is still unable to divulge.

Once arriving, you have work to do even before your actual assignment begins. “You have to unpack the plane, Dee explained. “It’s not like regular baggage claim. They gave us 3 hours for sleep before we started work.”

Living quarters were cramped, to say the least. “There were 26 women in a 10-man tent,” Dee said. “We worked 18 hour shifts each day. I was so exhausted people would have to shake me awake. I didn’t have a day off for 65 days.”

And here’s that taking care part again. “What was going through my mind was to take care of my country. This is why I joined,” Dee stated.

Although far from the United States, thoughts of the 911 victims and their families were never far away as Dee explains. “We put stickers on bombs with messages meant for the enemy. I cannot say what they were, but we received letters from families of 911 victims and were read those letters at rollcall.”

While September 11, 2001 was pivotal for Dee, a prior assignment would forever change the course of her life. Stationed in Guam, she was directed to assist Kurdish evacuees who had arrived. “We had to erect tents and cleanup housing for evacuees. The moment I knew that I wanted to be a sort of social service person was during this time. It changed me. I was escorting female evacuees along with an interpreter. The evacuees had walked from Iraq to Turkey, with a garbage bag full of their belongings.”

She explained that one woman couldn’t find birth certificates for her children. “If certificates weren’t found, they would be sent back," Dee says. “But we looked for those certificates, and we found them. The wife had tears running down. We couldn’t speak the same language, but she looked at me and gave me a big hug. That changed me. My passion was to help people. And I got a degree in Social Services.”

Fast forward to today. Dee continues her compassionate service as director of SAF. Little things mean so much to veterans and their families served by this program. “We do barbeques, flip burgers. And sometimes we just talk,” she said. “It’s the best moment for them and for us. We’re giving back to those who gave.”

And she added. “Don’t forget, they need us. When we walk in that door with burgers and pizza, and we just talk. You don’t need to give me anything. Your community cares. I can never explain it.” And for military members and veterans who want to continue to serve, Dee stressed, “There is absolutely a place for military members who may want to be involved.”

It's been 20 years since 9/11. Asked to reflect back on that time and her experience, Dee states, “We were so driven. We never looked back. We were taking care of our country. Our country needed us, and we couldn’t let it happen again. We never quit. We stood up. We respected those who were lost. We respected our first responders. There was not one person who was asked to deploy who refused. I brought my airmen home. I had 19 with me. I was the mama. We lost one the night we came home in a car accident.”

And she added, “My family stepped up. We did the mission, and we’re all safe and sound today.”
And the caring mission continues.

If you’d like to learn more about the SAF program, visit https://www.redcross.org/about-us/our-work/military-families