To make it worse, the it was snowing off and on, with visibility going from great to awful and back again in a matter of minutes. I could deal with canceling the aircraft display and just visiting the camps if there was no possibility of an aircraft launch. After all, the kids didn't know about the static display. My greatest fear was putting those children on a bus, dragging them to the landing zone only to return to their homes disappointed.
When we boarded the bus, it started snowing hard. The aircrew came out to tell us that if the weather broke they would be there but they weren't flying in the present conditions. Off we went with 2 buses and 28 soldiers.
The first bus pulled off at Donja Visca (DV). 1LT Dan Gulick (my SFOR 11 replacement) and I were on the second bus that continued on to Gornja Visca (GV). Along the way the weather looked fine on Bedrock, but there was a line of snow showers on the hills just to the south. I must have called back to the crew and the other bus a dozen times to see if everyone was ready. When we arrived at GV it still looked touch and go. I didn't know what to tell the children. I wanted to see the aircraft land before we boarded the bus. Interpreters, refugees, and soldiers were looking at me, while I stood there cursing the weather. Did I mention that I was driving everyone crazy? Finally, one interpreter (Ozzy), evenly says, "calm down Mr. Gallagher, the aircraft is in the air I am sure everything will be fine." Thank you Ozzy.
When we turned the final corner we could see the Blackhawk circling the landing zone. Five young boys were sitting in the front of the bus. The look in their eyes when they saw the aircraft landing was worth every second of effort involved. Hats off to the 25th ID crew for making this happen. I must have thanked them a dozen times. I would like to give special credit to CPT Bresser for letting us use his aircraft for this effort. He also made the effort to visit us arriving on the aircraft.
Everyone had a great time climbing all over the Blackhawk. The boys of course especially loved sitting in the machine gunner's seat. Like the school visit to Comanche, we took Polaroid shots of all the children and some adults. That again was a huge hit. After several group-shots, the soldiers and children headed back to the respective camps.
Obviously, we had quite a crowd for this visit, more than double our usually number. We even had eight first time visitors. As I put it to the Camp Leader Ms. Dozic (Dozich) we brought enough soldiers for every child to play with.
Everyone had a great time socializing, drinking coffee, eating sweets, swapping stories, and of course playing with the kids. Phil, Jeff, and Dan were playing Basketball with the older boys. That event was drawing a crowd from the whole neighborhood. Only about a million photos were taken and lots of new friends made. Finally came time for the handmade goods sale. Since we had three rooms full of soldiers, it was difficult to tell how much money changed hands. Based on a quick survey of buyers, I am guessing $750 to a $800. Before we left, Ms. Dozic gave me a crocheted doily of the American Flag. Wow! That was quite a thoughtful "thank you" gift.
Of course, it was a tough good-bye. At the time I was focused on getting everyone to the restaurant, but I am still having a difficult time grasping the finality of the event. For the most part dinner went well. The interpreters had a their final dinner with Major Delaney that night. Therefore, I was the next best thing. As a result of my first-grade level language skills, we had a few challenges with some of the dinner orders. The owner provided a complimentary soup and cake so we got a great deal.