Paige Zulandt

It was a day full of firsts for Brandy Robertson and her son as they arrived at the airport on February 12, 2006.  They were on their way to Hawaii to join her husband who had recently been assigned to his first duty station there. This would be their first time living outside of Tennessee and it was her 11-year-old son’s first flight.

“Everything was brand new to us,” Brandy says. “I had never lived outside of Tennessee prior to this. Neither had my son. And yeah, I was a brand-new nurse as well.”

After two flights and about 10 hours of flying, they finally landed in Hawaii. But as she turned on her phone for the first time since boarding her first flight that morning, she was inundated with text messages and voicemails.

“We were standing in the middle just deboarding the plane and trying to figure out, you know, what was happening, and where my husband was,” Brandy recalls.

She then received heartbreaking news; her sister had died in a fatal car accident.

“It’s really hard because I mean, she was 18 years old, you know?” Brandy shares. “I mean she had her whole life ahead of her.”

Brandy recalls going into shock after learning what happened and focusing on getting off the plane and finding her husband.

“We were already in a new place,” Brandy says. “We were brand new to the military. I had no idea how this was going to be handled. And we were brand new together, just starting our lives out. I had just graduated from nursing school, so for us to be able to move there, that was on the Army. But for us to get back became my next immediate concern. How do I get back?”

That’s when she learned the American Red Cross was already stepping in. Her mom called the Red Cross, who was able to alert her husband’s command and begin the process to get her and her family back to Tennessee.

“They already had plans in place for us to get back on the plane, travel as a family back to Tennessee, to be able to be there for the funeral,” Brandy shares.

The Red Cross reached out to Brandy and her husband to let them know everything was being taken care of, giving them the chance to focus solely on family. This entire process was all part of the Hero Care network, a 24/7 support system for military families as they face crises of all kinds. This network of dedicated Red Cross volunteers and staff provides emergency communications between active-duty military personnel and their families during personal emergencies or major life events.

“The Red Cross told us exactly what was going to happen, how it was going to work, and made all of that very seamless for us to just be able to pick up, grieve, and not have to skip a beat,” Brandy recalls. “So, we didn’t feel alone in the process and were very supported by not just the Red Cross, but the military community.”

Brandy later learned that her mother knew about contacting the Red Cross due to her experience with her own husband’s and father’s military careers. The American Red Cross had helped in the past when her family needed to contact their military members about a loss in the family.

“When you have such a great loss, those support [systems] that are there for you are very impactful,” Brandy says. “They make a lasting impression.”

Brandy’s experience with the Red Cross goes beyond the Service to the Armed Forces line of service. She had the opportunity to volunteer with the Red Cross during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and during her nursing program. She has since joined the board for the Tennessee River chapter. Now, she wants to make sure others know the different services offered by the Red Cross.

“I think there is a lot of preconceived that [Red Cross] is just disaster relief, and it spans so much more than that,” Brandy shares. “It’s about family and it’s about taking care of family.”

Brandy encourages everyone to find a way to get involved, whether that is by volunteering, making a financial donation or donating blood.

“It’s a passion of mine, helping people. I think it’s because it’s my nurse nature. It’s my nature to nurture. And so I get very emotional when I talk about all the things that the Red Cross has done and been impactful in my life and seeing the way that they show up for others,” Brandy says.

The American Red Cross has proudly served military families for well over a century. Learn more about how to support them as they navigate the unique challenges of military life. https://www.redcross.org/local/tennessee/ways-to-donate/local-giving.html