Huskies play for troops in Germany

(WTNH) -- For the past few days we've been honoring our military, the men and women from Connecticut who are serving overseas. UConn basketball just did the same, by playing a game against Michigan State on the Ramstein Air base in Germany.

It was a great game, but in the end it really didn't matter who won. It was all about serving the people who devote their lives to serving us.

A treat for the troops. UConn was part of the first ever regular season college basketball game outside the country.

However, before the game, the Huskies made a stop at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to get a heavy dose of reality.

The players and coaches meeting with wounded soldiers and with the men and women who take care of them at the largest Stage 1 trauma unit outside the country.

"Guys like you help save lives," said former UConn coach Jim Calhoun.

"We never think about it that way, but I guess that's true," said Michael Merritt.

Army Staff Sergeant Merritt supervises the radiology department at the hospital.

"We're the first line out of Afghanistan or Iraq, we're kind of the first people they see besides the ER, we make 'em feel at home and take care of them the best we can," Merritt said.

Merritt grew up in Canton and says he could probably be making more money in the private sector, but he like the other servicemen and women have something in common.

"I say it's patriotism, but I think the fact that all of us share a core of helping others and there's no other better honor than to help others and to help your fellow countrymen," Merritt said.

Danbury's Andrea Oliviera said she felt that way when she was in high school watching the terrorist attacks on 9-11.

"Seeing all the television, all the reports, you know, we have these young guys on the front lines sacrificing their life," Oliviera said, "they have families, they have kids at home and I'm like, wow I want to be a part of that."

And so now, she's an Army clinical nurse, recently at Walter Reed Hospital and now, in Germany. Every day she tends to severely wounded soldiers.

"I had the privilege of deploying to Afghanistan so I really saw them, first person to attend to them,"Oliviera said, "but now being here, seeing that middle piece, it's an honor."

East Hartford's Tony Hodges says he feels the same way. He's a civilian now after having already served. He's employed in the hospital's ophthalmology ward.

"The war wounded where you know, those are open globes that we have to repair and that's probably the hardest part of the job," Hodges said.

Hodges sometimes finds himself as a tech in eye procedures and says there's no financial reward greater than helping our soldiers.

"This is my way to give back to the soldiers that came before me and that's gonna be after me," Hodges said. "It's like being active duty, but it's not and the reward that we get for helping our war wounded is payment beyond what I actually get financially."

Hodges got an even bigger reward when his beloved Huskies came to the base and upset Michigan State. The game was a way the civilian world was able to show its appreciation for the men and women who put serving others ahead of their own needs.