HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. – A US Army platoon leader is being praised for not allowing one of his soldiers’ families to go hungry after their Hopkinsville neighborhood was flooded during recent storms.
Staff Sgt. Brian Quinlan, platoon leader for the 49th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company at Fort Campbell, acted quickly when he learned that one of his soldiers and his family were out of basic necessities and unable to leave their home in Hopkinsville due to flooding.
“The soldier informed us that many houses on his street had been flooded, and that the water covering one portion of the only access road to his house was too deep to pass by car. “His house was in good condition,” said Quinlan.
That soldier later told Quinlan that his family was running out of food and other necessities and needed help finding a solution.
Quinlan asked the soldier to give him a list of what they needed, then grabbed his 1st Lt. Sean Barrett and went to the commissary to get groceries. Quinlan and Barrett loaded the supplies into a kayak and found a safe location to launch.
Quinlan reportedly paddled more than 200 yards to the house, passing through chest-deep flooded areas.
“I was able to pack everything into the kayak and only needed to make one trip. “We dropped off a few gallons of milk, some packages of chicken and ground beef, eggs, lunch meat, fresh berries, applesauce, and some other odds and ends,” Quinlan explained.
The grateful soldier greeted Quinlan with a pull wagon loaded with groceries for his family.
Quinlan stated that what he did was only a minor example of how Fort Campbell soldiers have aided those affected by flooding in Kentucky.
