Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Claycomb was working with a cruise ship line in Miami when Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992.
"After about five or six days, all my food and water was just gone. There was a lot of rioting in the streets," he said. "And I was sitting on my porch, in my little area, and two soldiers — I don’t even know, at the time, what their rank was — they gave me a case of MREs and some water."
They were members of the Florida Army National Guard.
Claycomb took it as a sign, so he moved home the next year and — on his Army veteran brother’s advice — joined the Pennsylvania Guard in 1993.
The career field artillery soldier, who joined the Active Guard and Reserve in 2002, first started volunteering after a yearlong deployment to Iraq in 2004. He met a representative from Operation Troop Appreciation at a homecoming ceremony in 2005, then worked his way up to the board of directors.
Operation Troop Appreciation provides care packages and other requested items to deployed troops in an effort to boost the troops’ morale and support them while they’re in the field. The group also works to fight veteran homelessness and provide help to veterans who need it.
"It’s one of my proudest moments because we’ve helped over 150,000 military members since 2005," said Claycomb, recipient of an honorable mention for the 2017 Military Times Service Member of the Year competition. "The past couple of years, since deployments have kind of tapered off, now we’re helping out homeless veterans or soldiers who need a hand up."
He’s also a regular speaker at schools, churches and public events.
"You’ve got to let the community know that you’re there for them, because hey, you know, ‘Matthew is my neighbor.‘ But what happens when there’s a flood or snow?" he said. "Next thing you know, I’m out there in a Humvee."
And he takes his role as a community ambassador to heart.
"Because you have a little young man, a little girl, they might be your leaders in a few years," he said. "And also, for the parents. So that they go, you know, ‘I don’t have a problem with my son or daughter joining the military because of what Sgt. Claycomb said or did.’"
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
