ORANGE — Kevin Dodd is described as a family man who loves children and wants to help others. And whether he is back home in the United States, or on the other side of the world, those personality traits show.
Dodd, 32, of Orange, is a gas turbine systems technician 1st class in the U.S. Navy. He has spent 14 years in the Navy, and is assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett, deployed in the Indo-Pacific region as a “multi-mission asset.”
But not all of those missions are military in nature — some are cultural, some are even community outreach.
Last week, Dodd spent time reading books to kindergartners at Cheerland Nursery School in Hong Kong.
When the Navy Office of Community Outreach sent out a picture of the event, it reached his younger sister, who often doesn’t get to see Dodd for long periods of time while he is deployed overseas.
“When I saw that picture, oh my gosh, it made me so happy,” said Katie Cerez, who grew up with Dodd and their two older brothers in Orange.
“It literally warmed my heart. It also made me glad that he is finding a way to feel connected to his children, given the distance,” Cerez added.
Dodd has a son and a daughter who live in San Diego, Calif., who Cerez describes as Dodd’s “spitting image.”
Cerez said that Dodd has always been drawn to all children and cherishes his own. She believes Dodd, while living 12 hours ahead of his own family, is connecting with local Hong Kong children to feel closer to his own in spirit.
According to Kayla Turnbow, from the Navy Office of Community Outreach in Tennessee, sailors from the USS Sterett are taking part in cultural exchanges with different people in the city of Hong Kong.
“Sterett is in Hong Kong to experience the city’s rich culture and history, as the guided-missile destroyer continues its deployment with the Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group,” Turnbow said.
In the picture, Dodd is shown reading the children’s picture book “The Sea Mice and the Stars” by Kenneth Steven.
As at least five Hong Kong children crowd around him, Dodd shows them the pictures and reads the story about mice gathering falling magic stars from the sky while surviving in a harsh winter.
On the left side of each page is the English text of the story, on the right is Chinese — Hong Kong was a British colony for over a century until its sovereignty was transferred back to China in the late 1990s, and the city has large English-speaking and Chinese-speaking (Cantonese dialect) communities.
“I think the Navy outreach is wonderful,” said Cerez after seeing the picture. “Not every country has the opportunities that the US has, and it’s great that my big brother has a chance to be a part of that.”
When Dodd was younger, Cerez said, he would often look after her, and that she was closer with him than her other siblings.
Dodd’s caring nature shines through in the photograph, Cerez said.
According to Cerez, her brother would see reaching out to the Hong Kong children as a good deed, although it would make him miss his children more.
“Outwardly, he is a tough guy, always protected me and anyone else in the family,” Cerez said. “Once you get to know him, though, you see his sensitive side. This picture is a perfect glimpse into that sensitive side. He is a very kind-hearted person, and worries about others before himself.”
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.