BALTIMORE — Among the planes coming and going at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore, Md., and away from the hustle and bustle you will find members of America’s Armed Forces waiting at Air Mobility Command to deploy overseas.
In the mix, is retired Navy veteran, and USO Volunteer, Daniel Whelton
He has more the 2,000 brand-new books on hand but they're not for in-flight entertainment, these books are departing gifts for the family members they are leaving behind.
Whelton said, "It’s a fantastic program in that you're really, really, on a personal level, working with people over something is extraordinarily important, their children."
He escorts these military moms and dads to a small but mighty little library at the airport where they get to pick a book for their child.
Joseph Vergara is a Staff Sergeant, and Safety Technician, in the U.S. Air Force. He said, "My daughter is a princess. She's the little cutest thing ever to touch Earth. My son, he's a wild child. Very energetic. I think because my daughter is so young, she might be interested in sensory. So what I picked was, That's not my puppy."
Members get to browse a wide variety of books that reflect the diversity that’s found in our armed forces.
Julian Banks, SEC Sergeant, U.S. Air Force is heading overseas and leaving his wife and two boys, Oliver and Luccas behind in California.
He said, "The first book I picked was Charlie and Chocolate Factory. It was my favorite movie as a kid. And my wife loves the book. So this is a great opportunity for us to kind of just share something that we both love."
The service members sit in silence and gather their thoughts. They write love messages for their little ones and then they solemnly share them and the stories. As they depart for duty, their surprise packages make their way back home.
Banks said, "You know, I'm leaving. I'm gone. Just thinking, hey, this is like a pivotal point in our family's history, where I wasn't there for a while. And this is something that I did to kind of help out and keep my presence felt in the house and, you know, be around as much as I can."
This program helps bring our military families together, no matter how many miles separate them.
Vergara said, "To me, I think that it's all about making that connection with them. But to them, I think, them knowing that I'm still here for them."
WUSA9 and the USO are once again teaming up to raise money to thank our military families this holiday season. We’d like to thank them by providing Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets with all the trimmings. It’s part of a program called Turkeys for Troops.
Starting at 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 10 through 6:30 p.m. you can call 202-895-5560 to make a donation. Or, you can donate online here.
A $50 donation will feed a family of six. The holiday baskets will contain canned goods, stuffing, pie makings, cornbread mix and a gift card for a fresh turkey or ham.
The goal is to raise $30,000.
Since partnering with WUSA9 in 2009, the annual Turkeys for Troops Telethon has raised over $1.5M for a program that delivers a taste of home to servicemembers.
"Not only will your contribution fund our Turkeys for Troops this holiday season, but it will also provide resources for additional USO programming and impactful support delivered year-round," the USO said.