Final yr was the primary time that U.S. Army Pvt. First Class Patrick Konczal ever remembered not being along with his household on Christmas. This yr, with assist close to and much, he made a 7,000-mile trek to offer his mother and father—together with a cancer-stricken mom—an enormous vacation shock.
Konczal, a 74D and CBRN Specialist, is stationed at Camp Casey in South Korea as a part of the sixty fifth Medical Brigade (sixty fifth MED) throughout the 168th Multifunctional Medical Battalion (MMB). Till not too long ago he had not seen his mother and father and sister since July 2024, with the months in between together with his mom being recognized with most cancers. The deployment prevented Konczal from having the ability to go away Korea and have a tendency to his mom, who was present process radiation and chemotherapy.
However that modified as a result of a well-recognized group. Konczal was chosen by the American Purple Cross Service to be the beneficiary of the vacation shock, mobilizing U.S. Armed Forces staffers within the U.S. and Korea to carry him house. He was one among 26 U.S. service members nominated to obtain the chance as a part of the decade-old endeavor.
In mid-December that household reunion got here to fruition, albeit with a twist. Konczal’s mother and father had been advised to reach on the Purple Cross chapter workplace in Fairfax, VA, with what they thought was a volunteer effort to arrange vacation greeting playing cards for sufferers at native navy hospitals. However they and their daughter walked by means of the power’s doorways to seek out Konczal, leading to an emotional scene and heavy embrace.
“It’s onerous to maintain it collectively actually,” Konczal mentioned in remarks shared with Army.com. “Your mom at all times worries about you essentially the most. Lastly having the ability to see her once more, it means all the things. It actually does.”
He additionally thanked the Purple Cross for bringing the plan full circle, referring to it as a debt he won’t ever be capable to repay. “It means all the things to me,” he added.
A World Workforce Effort
Abby Walker, content material advertising and marketing specialist for the American Purple Cross, served as undertaking lead for Konczal’s homecoming reunion this yr. The annual choice varies primarily based on the people, households, and the areas of the households throughout the U.S. in comparison with the proximity of the place they’re deployed.
“This simply represents our Purple Cross mission to assist and stand beside the navy neighborhood and guarantee that we’re being there for them, particularly in moments that matter and moments of extra heaviness like the vacations,” Walker advised Army.com.
Walker mentioned the nomination course of includes work with Purple Cross companions, with nominations solicited from varied sources. She mentioned a number of elements go into who’s ultimately chosen past the troop’s location, together with how lengthy they have been away from their household, how lengthy they have been gone, and if there are any important emotional stressors.
In Konczal’s case, the Purple Cross began planning his return to Fairfax again in September. That concerned Walker working with groups domestically and overseas in South Korea, in addition to with Konczal and his command workforce, to plan the logistics. The profitable nomination was even introduced at Camp Casey along with his command current.
“They had been very supportive and we had been capable of inform him that he was coming house,” Walker mentioned. “Then, I labored with him to arrange coming house.”
Purple Cross companions like United Airways supplied airfare for Konczal to go house and to ultimately return to Korea, which he’s slated to do in early January.
‘It Introduced Me To Tears’
The most cancers prognosis of Konczal’s mom was described to Walker and the Purple Cross as “a punch within the intestine” for the Army soldier, who advised officers that he grew up in a close-knit household.
That side of being on the opposite aspect of the world and comparatively unaware of his mom’s medical ongoings performed a giant position in his final choice, Walker mentioned.
“When [Konczal’s parents] walked in and noticed Patrick, I am unsure there was a dry eye within the room,” she mentioned. “It was so extremely heartwarming to see their response. The daddy teared up, the mom teared up, and it was so extremely candy. The hugs and the tears, it was superb.”
Konczal himself known as the second “pure elation” as a result of distance, it occurring across the holidays, and the general proximity that continually lingers between him and his household.
Morgan Konczal, the sister of Patrick, mentioned in remarks supplied to Army.com that her coronary heart was beating “like loopy” and that the reunion “didn’t really feel actual.”
“[My parents’ reaction] broke my coronary heart, in a great way,” Morgan mentioned. “I haven’t seen my dad cry in years. So, to see him break down and be pleased, it introduced me to tears.”
It was a memorable encounter for Mike Konczal, Patrick’s father, for a number of causes.
For one, he hadn’t seen his son in about 1 1/2 years. The opposite is that he used to offer blood and platelets for a few years for the Purple Cross when he was in downtown Washington D.C.
“I’m not shocked, the Purple Cross being the group that it’s, that it will do issues like this,” Mike mentioned. “However we didn’t know they organized some of these homecomings. It’s simply implausible.
“I feel this simply makes our yr. We all know [Patrick’s] going to be in till subsequent August, and that can in all probability be the following time we get to see him. So, this can be a good break.”
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