--Previous Message--
: I just found this site playing around on the
: computer.
: I was stationed on the Coast Guard Cutter
: Hollyhock a buoytender at the Coast Guard
: Station in Miami Beach on Dec. 29,1972. I
: was awakened and told that we were going to
: the Coast Guard Air Station because an
: Airplane had crashed in the Everglades. I
: remember the drive to the air station
: because the guy driving the car was going
: over 100 miles per hour. When we got to the
: air station they put us on helicopters and
: flew us to the crash site. The helicopter
: that I was on didn't land they just got
: close to the ground above the saw grass and
: we were told to jump out. When I hit the
: ground I was knee deep in mud. I also
: remember the strong smell of jet fuel. We
: had one flashlight between two of us and we
: were told to look for people who were still
: alive.
: I was only 18 years old and I had never seen
: a dead body. That all changed that night. We
: helped everyone that we could. As daylight
: came and they started marking the locations
: of bodies we were taken to the levee by
: airboat.
: This was an experience that I will never
: forget.
:
: I think that being a responder to this
: disaster helped me in my decision on a
: career. Next year I will retire from the
: police department here in Tulsa after 27
: years of service.
:
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