Fort Campbell, KY – Fort Campbell is especially known for its many traditions involving everything with the number 101 in honor of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell. Each Soldier adds to the legacy of their unit and carries forward traditions that can span generations this includes the places their children are born.
Blanchfield Army Community Hospital also participates in carrying on traditions as a proud team supporting the 101st. BACH’s Labor and Delivery team share in the joy of helping deliver more than 101 babies monthly.
After the Labor and Delivery team provides a warm handoff of the 101st Baby and mom to the Mother Baby team, and allows them both time to recuperate, BACH leaders and nurses pay a special visit to the 101st Baby and parents to celebrate the 101st child born in hospital and home of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell.
This February, a special hand-crocheted lamb was made by a 15-year-old Taylor Trueblood, a former 101st Baby born at BACH on February 26th, 2009, to help with the celebration of the next 101st Baby born at BACH.
Taylor’s father, retired Staff Sgt. Darrell Trueblood was stationed on Fort Campbell as a 74D Chemical Operations Specialist with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group. Her mother, Belinda Trueblood, gave birth to Taylor only 2 hours after arrival at the hospital. After Taylor was born, BACH staff notified the Truebloods of the unique honor of being the 101st baby born that February.
Today, Taylor is a freshman attending Northwest High School and has two older brothers, Jeremy and Michael. She wanted to leverage her newly learned creative crochet talents and thank the men and women who continue to do for others what was done for her. Her past crochet projects include a baby blanket, a Winnie the Poo bee, and a crayon she made for an art teacher at her school. Her crocheted baby lamb will be among the gifts for the next 101st baby.
“She’s always been a crafty person. She would always make gifts rather than buy something,” says her mother, Belinda. “I had seen a Facebook post from the Blanchfield Hospital page about the 101st December baby born in 2023. In that post was a picture of a crocheted animal, and I mentioned to Taylor that it would be interesting if she did something like that since she was a 101st baby too.”
The lamb took about a week to complete once she started. When asked about the inspiration behind this and other projects, Taylor said, “My parents make sure that I follow through and don’t give up on something because it’s hard. I’m very proud of my parents, and they taught me to not be selfish, but be selfless.”
BACH Commander Col. Sam Preston, and acting Sergeant Major, Sgt. Maj. John Wilkerson, shared their appreciation to Taylor and the Trueblood family for her gift. Preston praised Taylor’s actions before awarding her a Certificate of Appreciation.
“One of the coolest things about being a part of this command and community is seeing one of our Eaglets being just like the community you were born into, which is giving, caring, thoughtful, and talented,” said Preston.
The personnel within the Women’s Health Department understand the importance behind the donation. Lt. Col. Laurey Tyson, Chief of Women’s Health, and her staff gave the Trueblood family a tour of the ward, affectionately referring to the unit as the Eagle’s Nest. Darnell shared pictures of the day Taylor was born with the staff and told stories of that hectic day.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to take care of the women and babies, but to see what it actually meant to a 101st baby that was born here that was serviced by our staff, it’s truly an honor,” Tyson said. “We are happy to pay it forward and give this beautiful lamb to the next family. We live in a culture and society that doesn’t necessarily focus on all the positives. We are surrounded by what’s wrong with the world, and this is what’s right. As a parent, we can only hope to instill in our children a character of selflessness, giving, and generosity, like Taylor.”
Fort Campbell, BACH, and a lucky family will be holding their collective breath, ready to celebrate another 101st tradition and grow the Army family.
Taylor’s example and motto to live a selfless life, not a selfish one, leads in pursuing a better tomorrow for everyone.
