During Hurr Camille the MS National Guard LARCs Saved Hundreds Of Lives

[merh]

I am inland, on the MS Gulf Coast. I experienced Camille. For those of you that think the Guard could not make any difference, I think this article proves otherwise.

04/16/04
LARCs Saved Hundreds Of Lives

The amphibious vessel LARC, to be dedicated Tuesday, sits in front of Biloxi's seafood museum. During Hurricane Camille, the building was the headquarters for the Mississippi National Guard's 138th Transportation Battalion. Wallace Farragut, the logistics officer, says, "We kinda gauged what we were supposed to do based on what we heard but we had no idea the intensity of the wake, of that water comin' across, the damage. No one could anticipate that, it was amazing."

Wallace Farragut and the company commander, Glenn Ryan, were in charge of getting the guardsmen and the LARCS where they were supposed to be. The crews evacuated nearly 300 people from Camille's raging waters. Farragut documented their stories. "It was rescues from all angles...from tree tops, telephone poles, attics. It was unbelievable," Farragut says.

Ryan and other battalion members who stayed in the building to guard equipment soon found themselves forced out by high water too. Lucky for them, one LARC was available. Ryan says, "I wound up having to use the one here, yeah, for us, not to help anybody else but to get us outta here." With water up to their necks, Ryan says their only other choice was to swim. "I guess we probably could have swam our way out behind the building to Myrtle which was also covered with water and down where the Palace is now there was about ten feet of water. So, yeah, what could we have done."

(snip)

24 awards were given to the guardsmen who saved people. Wallace Farragut says that's the most ever given in peace time, to a single unit of the Mississippi National Guard.

http://www.wlox.com/global/story.asp?s=2181353&ClientType=Printable

[merh]

1. kick

:kick:

[tnlefty]

2. kick

:dem:

[barbaraann]

3. That's an inspiring article.

Thank you for posting it.

[merh]

5. You are welcome.

:hi:

[Cleita]

4. Kick for those who think one must pick and choose which

lives are to be saved and just let people die because the rescue might be too risky.

[merh]

6. kick

:kick:

[KittyWampus]

7. some great info, thanks

[merh]

16. You are welcome.

:hi:

[Cleita]

8. Another

:kick:

[flyarm]

9. merh is this anywhere near you???

please please get out and be careful if it is..i am worried about you dearest!!
please pm me ..let me know you are away from this storm!!

i am pryaing for all those down there..we wnet through much last yr in fla..but not like this one..please stay safe darlin!!!

praying for all...with a french candle lit for a safety vigil!!fly

[merh]

10. Hey fly - I am hunkered down - inland.

I'll pmail you. :hug:

[Silverhair]

11. Vastly different situations.

In Camille, the storm surge mostly stayed south of the railroad. You had a place to rescue people to and many roads that lead away from the Gulf Coast.

In New Orleans you don't have that.

[merh]

12. Vastly different?

Gee, it would seem that saving folks from the water and bringing them to buildings with multiple stories is better than leaving them in the water. But what do I know. :shrug:

[Silverhair]

13. Check this out.

http://weather.noaa.gov/pub/data/raw/ww/wwus74.klix.npw.lix.txt

Send the Guard into that, and you won't have a Guard to use later to rescue survivors.

In a hurricane, storm surge causes most of the extreme damage. I personally saw the Gulf Coast after Camille. The storm surge was stopped by the railroad. And I lived through the other two hurricanes. So I am not a newbie about those storms. I also lived in New Orleans for six years.

The big concern with this Katrina hitting New Orleans is the flooding due to N.O. being below sea level. And there is nothing to stop the storm surge.

[merh]

14. I personally survived Camille, having lived on the Gulf Coast all

my life. As the men featured in the article demonstrated, with the right equipment, rescues are possible, even in the worst of conditions. :hi:

[merh]

15. kick

:kick:

[merh]

17. kick

:kick:

[xmas74]

18. They make a big difference.

They transport people and goods to various destinations. They block off areas that should not be entered. They help to maintain law and order when the "survivor" mentality kicks in.
The Guards are supposed to be here for threats to our soil, whether natural or created. They are not supposed to leave our soil at any time since they are here to defend our citizens from threats directly to our land(and not "threats" abroad). A good contingency plan would have included the use of the Guards for transport, traffic control, maintaining law and order, etc.
It's too bad that they are not here right now. They could have saved many lives. Instead, they are far away worrying about their families and worrying about who is doing the job that they signed up for(if anyone is doing it at all).

[merh]

19. And worrying about their own lives.

:cry: They should be home. :cry:

[xmas74]

20. Exactly.

But I can bet that right now they are more worried about their loved ones. They should be here right now, doing what they signed on for instead of over there, "learning new skills".

[merh]

21. My local station has a live stream going - the news director read

an email they had received from a soldier in Iraq. He was thanking them for the stream and letting them know how much it helped relieve his concerns for his family and the coast.

:cry: Bring the Troops Home NOW!!!

[xmas74]

22. I have friends that I haven't heard from yet

(I really hope that means they evac'd and didn't turn on their cell phones). I'm worried while sitting here in MO. I couldn't even imagine having to sit halfway across the world w/ only the internet connecting you to the conditions of your loved ones!

[merh]

23. After Camille, it was 1 week before my mom's family knew we were

alright -- communications were so messed up. They thought we had been wiped out.

Thngs are better today in that regard, thank god.

[Bluebear]

24. Good morning my dear merh

How are you making out?

[merh]

25. Winds are picking up around here, local weather said they have

had gusts of 66 mph -- it's still 100 miles out. We lost power for a few minutes, but it's back on and internet still okay. I caught a few hours of rest and now things are kicking up, I think I am up.

Thanks for asking dear friend! :hug:

[Bluebear]

26. Good to 'see' you

I have been too restless to sleep and I am in New England lol. You take care and if you do lose connection, let us know you are OK as soon as you can.

[merh]

27. Power & internet went down for a few, but I am back up.

I had to get some rest, nothing much was on tv and the winds really didn't start howling until about an hour ago. I'll keep in touch and let you know how things go after this thing as soon as I can. :hug:

[xmas74]

28. I'm giving it a couple of days.

I'll contact family tomorrow, hoping to find them there first.