Fall 2006
William Kelly, Jr. is a frequent visitor to the Fort Bragg Blood Donor Center. The retired Air Force Master Sergeant served 20 years as a flight engineer and became a blood donor in 1968 while still in the service.
As a platelet donor, MSgt. Kelly provides a valuable blood product relied on by military medical personnel. Blood platelets cost $450 or more per unit if purchased from civilian agencies – and if they are not available when needed, cost becomes irrelevant. These tiny cells are critical to those recovering from combat-related injuries, trauma, burns and surgery because they initiate the formation of blood clots and reduce blood loss. (To learn more, visit www.militaryblood.dod.mil.)
After years of supporting the military as a spouse and mother, Kelly’s wife, Gloria, now makes lap-quilts for wheelchair-bound troops – more than 500 so far. “I saw a program about the wounded coming home to Walter Reed,” she says. “I wanted so badly to do something. I quilt – that’s my only skill. I thought about them in their wheelchairs and wondered if a lap-quilt would comfort them.”
Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Kelly – and others like you – for your tireless efforts in support of the military community. You inspire us all.
* * * * *