Last week, America prepared to commemorate the Tenth Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our nation. At the same time I [Paul] was honored to join a group of cartoonists from the National Cartoonists Society on a trip to Norfolk, Virginia and Bethesda, Maryland on a trip to visit and draw for some of our wounded warriors and active duty military personnel at a number of different hospitals and military installations.
The NCS has a long-standing tradition going back to WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam of going out to entertain the troops wherever they may be. In recent years, NCS teams have visited places like Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany and countless bases stateside. Our goal is to express our appreciation to these remarkable people for the job they do and the sacrifices they make to keep us safe here at home.
Our group consisted of Dr. Joel Goodman, founder of The Humor Project, who travels the world giving presentations on humor in the workplace and humor in healing. Our cartoonists were Mason Mastroianni, who draws the classic comic feature, “B.C.”; Jeff Bacon, whose cartoons appear in “Navy Times” and “Marine Times”; Bruce Higdon, freelance cartoonist and illustrator; and yours truly, Paul Fell. We were escorted throughout our 5-day trip by Leanne Braddock, retired Navy Commander who now does counseling for the wounded warriors and their families.
We began our trip in Norfolk, Virginia, where we visited the Portsmouth Naval Hospital to meet and draw for marines and sailors who are recovering from their wounds and receiving rehabilitation before returning to active duty or civilian life. We spent the morning drawing for these men and women in hopes of expressing our appreciation and to provide a brief respite from what is for many of them, a long ordeal of recovery. At the same time, Joel Goodman was doing his presentation “Humor and Healing” for hospital patients and staff.
Later that day, we visited the Portsmouth Navy base, where we were told we would see the largest collection of naval power in the world. They weren’t kidding. As we boarded the cruiser USS San Jacinto, we were surrounded by nuclear aircraft carriers, assault ships, destroyers, and naval vessels of every kind. We received a tour of the ship and then proceeded to the chiefs’ mess where we drew for the crew. As always, our scheduled stop of 90 minutes ran overtime. The crew members kept coming by for drawings, and we were happy to oblige.
After a travel day we visited the Bethesda/Walter Reed medical center. This is yet another huge facility where the wounded receive top-notch care for their injuries. It is truly sobering to see the extent of the wounds these soldiers, sailors, and marines have endured and the long and painful rehabilitation they go through. What truly touches your heart is their determination to move on with their lives and how their situations impact their families and loved ones. We spent part of our day drawing in the main lobby of the hospital for anyone who could stop by. Later we were taken to the acute care facility where the wounded are first housed when they are evacuated from the combat zones. When their condition is stabilized, which could take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months, they are transferred to another part of the complex where they are housed in apartment-like facilities. Their families can then stay with them as they begin the long healing process.
This was my first NCS trip to draw for the Wounded Warriors and I already have my name in for another. Our association has groups preparing to head overseas next week and again in October. Time and time again, we received heartfelt thanks from the wounded, their families, and medical staff for these visits. In reality, we, as cartoonists are the honored ones, and we get even more out of these visits than those who have sacrificed so much for our country.
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