Mt. Massive 2009: The Event That Changed My Life
Mt. Massive 2009: The Event That Changed My Life
As you know, since you are reading this, I was blogging about my experiences and life on Mt. Massive in 2009. At some point my pen stopped writing, my keyboard stopped tapping. There was much to be said, there was nothing to be said.
August 19, 2009. It started out as a regular day on the mountain. We decided to get an early start since we’d be working up higher than usual. We left camp at 5 am. We did our usual stretching circle and then hiked, and hiked, and hiked. The crew was far ahead of me. On this particular day we had 7 Rocky Mountain Youth Corp, Joe, myself and Loretta from the Forest Service all at the worksite. We had one person who stayed at camp, sick.
I wasn’t feeling too great. My stomach was hurting and I was hiking slowly. I wasn’t sure if I should turn around and go back to camp but when I got to our tool cache, I figured I’d continue the last half mile to the worksite, drop off my tools and assign myself a project that I could do at a very slow pace. That way I’d at least get something done.
Lunch time came and I couldn’t eat, I had no appetite. I did manage to take a nap and before I knew it, lunch was over. Hannah and I went up higher above the lunch site to work on delineating the trail. We were working on the ridgeline, kind of near where the North Halfmoon Trail and the main route connect. It was 1:45ish when my life changed forever. We were 15 minutes shy of the end of our work day. A military helicopter crashed 100 yards from my group, just on the other side of the ridge.
Many of us had wilderness first aid certifications and immediately ran over to help. We ran over scree and talus at a 40 degree slope. We did a quick safety survey and entered the scene of the accident. We innately split into groups and started caring for our patients and sent a search party out to locate 2 more soldiers and aid them in whatever way we could.
We called in a Flight-For-Life helicopter to help evacuate our patients. We did everything we could do. We were 4 miles from the nearest 4-wheel drive, dirt road and we were at 14,200 feet in elevation. We exhausted our medical supplies, capabilities and ourselves.
I won’t go into the details but I will say that on August 19, 2009 our nation lost 4 great American heroes. We lost four men who were willing to give their lives to protect the unalienable rights that many people, myself included, exercise and possibly take for granted everyday.
I take solace in the fact that I was there with them in their greatest time of need. I am glad that I can offer that to their families. Unbeknownst to them, these four men and their families have made me more appreciative, understanding and empathetic towards those in the military. I can better understand what they go though and the sacrifice both the servicemen and servicewomen and their families make in the name of our country, our safety and our freedom. It doesn’t matter how you feel about war, regardless, you should support the troops. Our troops put their lives on the line for you. So now I am that woman who approaches random uniformed service people in the airport (or other public places) and shakes their hand and says “thank you for your service to our country.” Then I walk away. I encourage you to do the same. My only regret is that I didn’t start doing this sooner. Maybe I would have randomly thanked these men.
My thoughts are constantly with their wives, children, brothers, sisters, parents and friends. I think about everyone in the 160th out of Fort Campbell. I think about the hikers who were out there, trying to summit Mt. Massive and answered the call to action. I think about Nate, the Flight Nurse and about Pete, Laraine, Joe, Rob, Max, Adam, Alex, Hannah, Fred and Loretta. I think about Natalie, Jesse, Brian, Rodney, Mizzou, Mississippi, the guy who gave up his sleeping bag and tent for first aid supplies, Freida and Dustin and the other hikers who were there that day. But mostly I think about Chad, Terry, Rob and PJ.
Chris
May 27th, 2010 at 7:07 pm #
Hey Nitro,
I had no idea that you experienced such an ordeal. It must have been very hard to experience such a traumatic event. Certainly an experience like this must give one a deep, heartfelt appreciation for those who serve this country. Thanks for sharing this story.
Freefall
Carolyn Evans
August 21st, 2010 at 6:42 am #
Nitro,
I don’t know you but know the men you helped that day. I cannot find the words to discribe how we all feel about what you and your friends did for our soldiers and what you continue to do for the families left behind.
With the anniversary just past we all think about those hours and the days and months that followed. I remember seeing you all at the memorial and thinking what a wonderful group of people to join us in honoring our friends and fellow soldiers.
I speak for all of us in thanking you for your new understanding and appreciation for what our guys (and gals) go through and for what we as families go through as well.
God bless you,