Sharon Slamons
The Early Years and Life as a Military Spouse
Sharon was born in East Hartford, CT, in January, to a family of six. When she was about 10 years old, her grandmother Alice moved in with them, so it was a big, happy family! She lived in a new residential area in the suburbs of Hartford, but she would get her fill of rural life in the summers, where they would go to her uncle’s farm, do chores, and help feed and care for the animals he had!
She met her husband at a church picnic and dated for 4 years before they married after high school in 1970. They had two beautiful daughters, Tina and Allison, and just before Allison was born, her husband decided to join the Air Force. In 1977, when Allison, her youngest daughter, was 5 months old, they moved to Aurora, Colorado, where he trained for 10 months. Then, their first base assignment was to Loring Air Force Base here in Maine, and they spent about 15 years there until the base closed.
At that time, Al (her husband) had to retrain in a new career field. So, he went from what Sharon called going from behind the lines as a maintenance guy to the front lines as a Tactical Air Control Personnel (TACP). (A TACP job in the military is primarily a small, elite team embedded with ground forces (Army units), to direct combat aircraft and firepower onto enemy targets). This caused a change from Air Force Bases to Army Bases. They moved to Fort Riley, Kansas, leaving one daughter behind for college.
During all their military deployments, Sharon quickly learned the importance of service in helping the other wives, especially the younger ones, and their families. As her husband rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the top NCO in the unit, her support role in helping the families continued to increase. At that time, Desert Storm was underway, and her position as an NCO’s wife was more important to ensure the wives and their children were taken care of. It was interesting to learn that being on an Army base was more challenging than on an Air Force base because of differences in how the Army and the Air Force support families left behind to care for the home.
She helped the wives and their families with things like medical support and other necessities. Once, Sharon hosted a luncheon for a full-bird colonel’s wife, which gave her the opportunity to explain the challenges facing lower-ranking families, especially in the medical system, including the challenges of having a baby. The Colonel’s wife shared this information with her husband, who helped with support changes between the Army and Air Force families.
Their third assignment was to Manheim, Germany. During her first 3 weeks, she did not go anywhere because she was afraid of the speed on the roads. After a while, she learned the ropes, learned her way around, especially among the different bases. She again helped all the families during the holidays and with things like daycare and other items that would need assistance when the military members were deployed. For example, during Halloween, the unit would put on a haunted house, and all family members would dress up for the fundraiser. They did similar things during most holidays. When military members were away, all the families would send boxes of snacks overseas to those deployed. She also coordinated movie nights for families, using home movies of their spouses deployed overseas so they could see and hear them. The Air Force made you all feel like you were part of a family. She has stayed close with many of the people there, and they even visit when they can. They will always be part of her extended family. Her monumental efforts did not go unnoticed. As they were about to retire from the military in 2004, the wives’ group presented Sharon with an angel pin and a plaque to recognize her enormous efforts
Another special memory was her visit to the Worcester Wreath Company, which supplied wreaths for Christmas to be laid in cemeteries across the country. Sharon and her daughter Allison ordered a dog tag with her father-in-law’s name to be hung on a tree in his memory.
Sharon now runs her own alterations business (including military uniforms) and teaches people to sew. She has been doing this for 8 years, teaching classes 4-5 days per week to kids as young as 8. They enjoy the fun, calling it “social sewing”. She also teaches special needs adults once a week.
Maine Troop Greeters
How did you hear about the Troop Greeters?
She was seeing her daughter off at the airport when they saw a plane coming in. This piqued her interest in joining. At that time, her husband had changed jobs and was in security protection in Baghdad, Iraq. He was away a lot and was known as the “actor who played dad” to her daughter’s friends. This was about 2011. Thus, she had lots of free time. Her daughter first started greeting the troops, then convinced Sharon to join her. They would take turns so that someone was home to take care of her daughter’s son.
A valuable member of the organization
Sharon started as a member until Allison joined the membership committee, and Sharon went along to help. When the secretary left, Sharon began taking minutes for that committee and never stopped. Over time, she volunteered for more responsibilities and eventually helped anyone who needed extra assistance. For example, she took over as secretary for both the Board and the membership committee. She also helps with fundraising, including special events, parking for the Waterfront Concerts, and other events. Again, for Sharon, this is like being part of a family. Since one of the Board members retired, Sharon has taken over tracking the Troop greeters who have passed away. She has files on the obituaries, and she makes sure they have a brick on the memorial walkway and are on the memory wall in the troop greeter room. She searches the obituaries to find all the greeters who have passed away. There are currently 157 deceased members who have bricks on the walkway and name tags on the wall. She also organizes the annual memorial service to lay new bricks.
She takes care of everything for the general and annual meetings, including the materials and lunch; keeps track of all 400+ members; sends all communications; books the facilities; and shops for snacks if needed. There are more things we have not mentioned!
Importance of greeting the troops and memories
Sharon says that when the Troops arrive, it is like a part of your family coming through. Because of her life, involvement, and over 32 years of experience with the military, she can relate to and build rapport with the troops, which they appreciate. She likes looking at the names of the Troops as they walk down the ramp and tries to find ways to remember them, sometimes even to figure out how to pronounce them! At first, there were computers in the room, and it was fun helping the troops Skype with their families. She also enjoyed talking to the troops about their families and seeing if there was anything she could help them with.
When they opened the museum, there was a ceremony; it was a special time to see the Veterans and spend time with them. Any part of the military is like family. She remembers sitting on the floor of the troop greeter’s room with others during Halloween, filling bags with candy to give to the troops as they returned to the plane. The troops thought that was the best thing since they were deploying, so it was the last taste of home.
We salute Sharon for her indefatigable energy and time in supporting the troops, Veterans, and the military!