EVERETT – When the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Shoup came home last week, they brought with them more than 5,000 stories about what it was like to help tens of thousands devastated by the Dec. 26 tsunamis in south Asia.
On Thursday, the Lincoln’s commander, Capt. Kendall Card, got to share his version of the ship’s relief efforts, drawing numerous “oohs,” “ahs” and “oh my Gods” from an Everett audience that was clearly captivated by the story.
“We were the right guys at the right time with the right assets,” said Card, who received a standing ovation from the crowd of about 400.
Card took part in a “tsunami summit” at Everett’s Historic Theatre Thursday to honor the sailors who have returned from their humanitarian work off the coast of Indonesia. The summit also was used to remind folks that similar earthquakes and tsunamis could happen in Western Washington before.
Card described how the Lincoln quickly went from celebrating Christmas in Hong Kong to being the center of rescue efforts for Indonesia’s Aceh Province on Jan. 1, only six days after the magnitude -9 earthquake and tsunamis killed an estimated 200,000 people.
The Lincoln’s assets were 17 helicopters, pilots to fly them (including Card), massive amounts of food and water, 5,000 sailors and even a load of teddy bears for the kids.
“I can’t describe how much devastation there was, except to say it was leveled,” he said.
The “it” Card was referring to was every village he came across, where usually the only building left standing was the mosque. Mosques appeared to be the only buildings in each devastated community strong enough to withstand the tsunamis’ 30-foot waves, Card said.
Each flight a humanitarian crew would make was the same, he said. They would fly over a village that was nearly nonexistent, a few people would wave them in, and 40 to 50 people would come out of the ruins asking for help.
“Most of the living were children,” Card said, adding that many of them were in good spirits, considering what had happened. “I want to tell you, the Indonesians are very resilient.”
On one of the missions that Card flew, the crew found a girl who had multiple fractures in her leg.
“Gangrene was just starting to set in,” he said, adding that they flew her out and gave her immediate help. Her leg was saved.
That was very rewarding, he said, calling it “instant gratification.”
“What better way to start off your new year than helping your fellow human being,” Card said.
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
