Red Cross volunteer John McGuire (center) stands with Lt. Col. Matthew Barack, commander of the New York Military Entrance Processing Site (left), and Lallita Maharaj, Director of Service to the Armed Forces for the American Red Cross in Greater New York (right), in the same room at Fort Hamilton where he swore his own Oath of Enlistment 57 years prior. [Photo by Frederic Klein / American Red Cross]
By Frederic Klein
As John McGuire toured the New York Military Entrance Processing Site (MEPS) at the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton base, he was met with a wave of déjà vu. Though he’s now a volunteer with the Red Cross’ Service to the Armed Forces team in Greater New York and was there to celebrate the opening of a Red Cross office next door, John found himself in the same room where, 57 years before, he had sworn an oath to defend the United States after being drafted into the Army.
“Looking at the picture, I have to laugh because I am standing so stiff it looks like I am afraid that they are going to draft me again,” John said. “Standing in the room where so many men and women in the past, and today, have stood to swear their allegiance to uphold and defend the freedoms we all enjoy today was a humbling experience.”
Red Cross leaders and volunteers join with members of the Fort Hamilton community to celebrate a new Red Cross office opening next to the Military Entrance Processing Site located on U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York. [Photo by Desiree Ramos Reiner / American Red Cross]
Lt. Col. Matthew Barack speaks to a crowd gathered to celebrate the new Red Cross office located on U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York. [Photo by Desiree Ramos Reiner / American Red Cross]
For more than a century, the Red Cross and the U.S. military have partnered to support military service members, veterans and their families — a legacy that harkens back to Clara Barton’s work aiding soldiers during the Civil War. Now, thanks to the work of John and countless others throughout the United States, the Red Cross assists more than 240,000 military and veteran families each year. Volunteers use the Hero Care Network to help service members communicate with loved ones and to facilitate their return home.
John says he was motivated to do something to support soldiers and veterans after the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, joking that he was “too old to re-join the Army, so instead I joined the American Legion.” John then served as the Commander of his American Legion Post for 9 years.
When he retired from his job as a computer technician in 2017, he realized he had more time to give back and signed up with the Red Cross and for the past three years John has helped veterans as well as military members and their families learn about various Red Cross programs available to them. As the veteran outreach lead for Long Island, he spends a lot of time speaking at community events and meetings and generally connecting with people who might need help from the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program.
“You see so many things happening in the news, and when it leaves the front pages people forget it and go on with their lives,” John said. “But so many veterans are not going on with their lives — they need help. Eighteen veterans a day commit suicide. For some of these veterans, all they may need is some assistance, someone to come help them and give comfort to them. That’s why I’m proud to be a volunteer, and I hope I am doing some good for my fellow veterans, my family.”
The new Red Cross office at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn is one of more than 390 similar offices on military installations and deployment sites throughout the world. At this office, the Red Cross offers a comprehensive range of services, including:
John, who spent two years in the Army, views his work with Service to the Armed Forces as a way to give back to those who enlisted alongside him, many of whom did not make it home.
“I was especially lucky because many of the other people who were drafted around the same time as I was were sent to Vietnam,” John said. “I lucked out and they sent me to Germany. Sadly, many of the men and women [who have taken the Oath of Enlistment] have given their lives in the defense of freedoms.”
Through the Hero Care Network, the Red Cross connects service members, veterans and their families to free and confidential assistance any day, any time. This includes emergency communication messages, financial assistance, critical community services and more. To access these services through the Hero Care Network, visit redcross.org/saf, download the Hero Care app by texting GETHEROCARE to 90999 or call a Hero Care specialist at 877-272-7337.
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