MCLB Barstow employees help provide much needed assistance for Katrina victims

Marine Corps News ^ | Oct 6, 2005 | Mr. Rob Jackson

[SandRat]

MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. (Oct. 6, 2005) -- In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina federal, state and local agencies dispatched teams of personnel to provide much needed assistance to the thousands of evacuees who were forced to leave the cities along the Gulf Coast to include New Orleans, which was nearly destroyed.

Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29 as a high Category 4 hurricane and by all accounts, it has been considered the most destructive hurricane ever.

Joining in to provide much-needed assistance to evacuees were MCLB Barstow civilian employees, Gary Heidorn, supervisor of the PAXMAN Shop at Maintenance Center Barstow, and Cory Martin, customer support for Set Assembly at Fleet Support Division. Both were involved because they are also members of the Disaster Medical Assistance Team, California Team Two, based out of San Bernardino, Calif.

The team staged its medical facility in Beaumont, Texas, where, according to Heidorn, they provided aid to approximately 1,900 evacuees but saw nearly 2,200 during the two weeks or so they were there.

"Everyone that could be there was there to include the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Red Cross and even a team of Buddhist, providing aid to the evacuees," said Heidorn.

Hiedorn departed San Bernardino on Sept. 2 with members of the DMAT, driving three trucks loaded with medical supplies.

The team drove to Dallas, Houston, Beaumont, Baton Rouge, La., and back to Beaumont.

"Technically our task was logistics or supply, providing what they brought in the trucks that FEMA gave them and the tents," said Martin, who flew out on Sept. 3. "We didn't know what was going to be out there, so we brought everything. It was quite a clinic (the shelter). Inside there were doctors, nurses and paramedics."

According to news reports, there were random acts of violence, looting and even gunfire, but where Heidorn and Martin were staged the area was very controlled.

"They had the National Guard and SWAT team out there and police doing security checks," Heidorn revealed. "They found a number of pistols, knives and machetes being brought in by the people. They were really afraid and coming off the buses protecting themselves."

As the evacuees came into the complex to do their medical and check-ins, they were searched and items considered dangerous were taken away, said Heidorn.

"I could understand the looting for food and water, but I could not understand the TVs and guns because you can't take it with you," said Martin. "Food because it was going to go bad anyway and you need water to survive, but you don't need a TV to survive."

Both volunteers noted how sorry they felt for the evacuees coming into the shelter. The Red Cross supplied them with food, clothes, shoes, a place to sleep and a shower, because everything they owned was with them in a plastic bag.

Of the 1,900 people they saw in the time they were there, perhaps a quarter of them were children, according to Martin.

They treated people for respiratory problems, infections from being in the contaminated water, feet and leg injuries, infected wounds, a few broken legs and arms but nothing really catastrophic, said Heidorn.

"I think we admitted maybe ten people to the hospital for serious things like heart attacks, etc. Whether it was caused by the flooding or the movements or the waiting inline it was just the stress of it all, which probably caused those ailments," he said.

Although the two individuals have been with the DMAT since 1993 and have participated in providing medical aid for many disasters, such as the Sept. 11 tragedy and the Northridge Quake, being in Beaumont providing aid to the many evacuees provided them with a different impression.

"The 911 thing was a situation of just horrendous amounts of material in one place; this is just a tremendous amount of people all over the country," said Heidorn. "You're looking at about 500,000 people displaced out of New Orleans. Where do you put 500,000 people?"

For both Heidorn and Martin, arriving on scene and tending to that many people left them somewhat uncomfortable as well.

"I've been to a couple of other disasters and when we initially walked through a couple of shelters (in Beaumont), it felt like we didn't belong there," Martin revealed. "I guess I'm not used to dealing with that many displaced people."

She participated in disaster relief for the Northridge Quake and when they arrived, within 36 hours after the quake hit, people were already in their shelters and space.

The feeling they both experienced while providing aid for the Katrina victims was unsettling.

"It was like walking into someone else's bedroom and it was very different," said Martin.

Heidorn expanded on that thought saying, "we walked into this huge room of about 2,000 people and it's like walking into their house. You could feel the tension."

Although feeling a sense of discomfort, both Heidorn and Martin continued to perform the duties they volunteered for and were sent there to do. They saw busloads of people come through Beaumont in route to Houston and other parts of the country. They saw the tragedy and felt the impact that Hurricane Katrina left in her wake. For most people, experiencing the aftermath of a major disaster would be enough, but not for Heidorn or Martin. So what keeps them going?

"I just can't give it up," said Heidorn. "I got out of the fire department, I missed that. I got out of Search and Rescue and I missed that. If I got out of this I'd probably find something else."

Martin revealed that the reason they do this is because they like helping people.

"Our families support us; they're left behind to take over what we leave. My husband has supported me 100 percent and I have friends all over the world who have called and said how proud they were of the work I've done during this effort."

When Hurricane Rita was approaching, both Heidorn and Martin were gearing up to move out again to provide whatever medical assistance to the people along the Texas border who may need it. Unfortunately, some of those requiring aid are the same people who once evacuated because of Katrina and now have to move again because of Rita.