08/22/2024
Growing into a Category 4, nearly a CAT 5. Hurricane Florence was pressing on the Carolina's in September of 2018. Hitting Wrightsville Beach, Hurricane Florence claimed a total of 53 lives, and resulted in $24.2 billion in damages. My team and I, reported to Wilmington, NC where we linked up with Indiana Task Force 1, and braced for impact. With Florence causing destruction around us, I lead a team consisting of five brave Soldiers. Who trust my decisions, and fully support the mission. With the mission being to save lives, and working with the amazing individuals of Indiana TF 1, calls for rescue were coming in and we were ready to go. The first call came within the eye of the storm. A massive tree that uprooted and crushed a house. Tragically this resulted in a mother and baby loosing their life. The absolute pure raw events that unfolded around this search and rescue, and many more to come, was absolutely amazing. My team and I, along with Indiana TF 1, dedicated every second, and poured our hearts and souls to make a difference and conduct rescues. But I say all of this not for any sort of praise or attention. But to shed light on the eye of the storm. The eye of Hurricane Florence was absolutely breath taking. The sun shines, birds chirp, and we were in an isolated quiet place if just for a brief moment.
But how does this relate to life? No matter how bad things get. No matter how bad we think this or that is. It could always be worse. Regardless of the devastation around us, there is always beauty in the storm. We just have to lace up our boots, keep our heads up, and find it. Regarding the first two casualties of Hurricane Florence, I often think about that mother and infant. But as I told my team, we can say a prayer to Honor them. But we have to stay strong and get after it. With that being said, we continued to "get after it" and assisted in rescuing over 400 individuals.
So never become a product of your environment. You are a product of how you overcome adversity. The decisions that you make, are what define you. So love each day as your last, and get after it.
