Posted on 01/17/2010 9:33:53 PM PST by Saije
For Airman Wiley Charles, a firefighter on the flight deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the mission to help Haiti is personal.
Charles, who was born in Haiti and lives in Homestead when he's not serving on the USS Carl Vinson, heard about the earthquake just after chow aboard the carrier off the coast of Virginia.
His first thought: Did his wife survive?
For days he tried to reach his wife, Louisa Joseph Charles, who lives in the Delmas district of Port-au-Prince, but downed lines thwarted his efforts.
So he focused on his job. On Saturday, after volunteering to unload supplies from streams of helicopters at the airport in the Haitian capital, he got the moment he longed for.
Just inside the airport he caught her gaze.
``I didn't see anything. I just stared and hugged her,'' said Charles, 25. He hadn't seen his wife since October. ``She cried. I kissed her. We hugged for a long time.''
Charles is one of 10 sailors on the carrier with family in Haiti. The Navy has helped the sailors reach family over the phone, but some have still not been able to get in touch with their loved ones.
Charles and Louisa met in high school in Port-au-Prince. But a year later, his family left Haiti and moved to Homestead.
Louisa, 29, stayed in Haiti, but the two stayed in contact, e-mailing and talking regularly. They got married in Haiti.
Three years ago, Charles joined the Navy. He was on the Vinson somewhere off Norfolk, Va., Tuesday when the earthquake hit. At first, he thought it was just a small tremor. Then he saw the photos.
From the bowels of the carrier, he called his brother in Miami. When he finally got through, there was no word on his wife.
(Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...
Amazing story. Thank you for posting this.
There was, for many years, a practising physician in northwest Oregon state whose name was Dr. Charles. She had immigrated from Haiti.
Charles seems to be a common surname in Haiti.
I’d gladly trade him & his family for a neighborhoodful of our homegrown malcontents.
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