Sgt. Watkins shows the Scouts the POW/MIA table.
Six Boy Scouts from Great Falls Troop 673 visited Walter Reed Medical Center on Dec. 4 and delivered 10 bags and boxes of new, donated books and movies.
The Friends of the Great Falls Library had contacted the Warrior Family Coordination Cell at Walter Reed who said they would be delighted to receive the donation. The donation consisted of a variety of new books donated to the Friends for its bi-annual book sale which went unsold.
The Scouts and their drivers delivered the books to Tranquility Hall, a residence for recovering warriors and families. While waiting to meet with their primary contact, Staff Sgt. Alicia Watkins gave the group a brief tour of the building. The Scouts visited the Warrior Café where Watkins showed them the POW/MIA table which is present in every military cafeteria. She explained the meaning of the various items on the table: the white tablecloth symbolizing the purity of soldiers’ motives in answering the call to duty; the rose representing the life of each missing person and his or her loved ones; a slice of lemon to remind us of the bitter fate of those captured and missing; a pinch of salt to symbolize the tears of the missing and their families; an empty chair and other symbols.
Watkins is a USAF sergeant who was at the Pentagon on 9/11 and who has served two combat tours, in Iraq and Afghanistan. She currently lives off base and comes to Walter Reed for treatment.
After the visit with Watkins, the Warrior Family Coordination Cell contact, Naval Petty Officer Joe Marcinkowski, arrived. Marcinkowski said that the Scouts or the Friends of the Great Falls Library would be welcome to come another time and set up a book table during lunch time outside the Warriors’ Cafe where soldiers could stop by and pick up books. He also welcomed the Scouts to visit inpatients any time and that he would be happy to arrange future visits.