More than 30 million travelers pass through Detroit Metropolitan Airport each year. Many are current or former members of the Armed Services. Sensing a need to support their unique travel needs, some Delta Air Lines employees got together and created a special place for them in 2010. That eventually blossomed into the current Freedom Center in the McNamara Terminal.
Every year, nearly 100,000 people with military connections travel through Metro, catching flights around the country and overseas. They include active duty, reserves, retirees - and veterans like traveler Stephanie Curry, “I’m midway through my journey. I started out in Edinburgh, Scotland, and I’m on my way to Philadelphia.”
With eight deployments under her belt during seven years of military service, Curry is no stranger to traveling. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the Freedom Center located in Metro's McNamara Terminal, “As soon as I walked in the two gentlemen were very welcoming. I was deterred because I’m not in active status now. But they didn’t care. They welcomed me right then with my Veteran’s Affairs card, and they were just lovely, and I’ve been gabbing with them for over an hour now.”
The two gentlemen Curry referred to make up a force of volunteers who are determined to give military travelers a quiet and comfy refuge inside an often chaotic and noisy terminal. That's kept Navy veteran Len Rose volunteering at the Freedom Center for the last three years. Rose, who served on aircraft carriers in the mid-1960's, says he enjoys sharing experiences with fellow veterans, “These people when they come in; they’re so thankful. A lot of them shake your hand, and if you help them out with a bad situation, they give you hugs. I like talking to the people, and some say, 'Well I was on that ship,' and I say, 'Wow,' and we start talking and you learn a lot. I talk 'military' with them and they understand. They like the place. They tell us they’re more relaxed, and that goes a long way, and it makes you want to come back another day.”
Fellow Navy veteran Chuck Sroka, who volunteers at the center one day a week, says he was hooked his first day at the center, “Three minutes after I started I said to myself, 'I gotta do this for a long time.'”
Sroka says he’s seen the gamut of situations come through the center, from travelers who've missed their flights to parents who’re seeing their children off to boot camp and deployments, “All kinds of things happen to different kinds of families. Everybody’s got a different kind of thing that’s tough and the Freedom Center is here to help everybody.”
Three minutes after I started I said to myself, 'I gotta do this for a long time.'
Army Veteran and Freedom Center volunteer Bob Cunningham says he wants to give a little of himself back, “I think it does more for me every time I’m here than I do for them. The next day I’m just…it rejuvenates me. I don’t know, I’m sentimental at heart I guess.”
Freedom Center Director Charlotte Trip says volunteers like Cunningham are usually kept busy, “We’ve served over 115,000 guests, we average 170 a day, approximately 5,000 a month."
Trip says it’s been quite an adventure since the center opened in November 2011. She says it has a wide array of services from refreshments, to a comfortable room with beds and sofas, computers and WiFi, “We also offer assistance for special circumstances, assistance with flight delays, getting them rebooked, a shoulder, an ear to listen, whatever it may take. We’ve had 'boot camp babies' who were on their way to boot camp, get delayed, and all of the sudden realize since they now have that extra time, 'Oh, I miss mom, what am I doing?' And they need some extra reassurance, like they need a mom there or a dad there."
Tripp says the Freedom Center couldn't operate without funding from the support from corporations, individuals, veterans and community service organizations. She says the biggest challenge is maintaining support by established donors while finding new ones.
The Freedom Center is located in Detroit Metropolitan Airport's McNamara Terminal next to Gate A43. It’s open to travelers with an active-duty, National Guard, Reserve, Retiree, and VA ID cards. Those interested in helping out can visit the center's website or go to its Facebook page.