Silent heroes at work for each disaster
When massive natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma force millions of people to start the heartbreaking process of rebuilding their lives with nothing but the clothes on their backs, we are often reminded of how compassionate we can be.
In the wake of Katrina and Harvey, Americans from across the country reached into their pockets to donate money to nonprofit relief organizations and lined up to donate clothing, food and essential items to those who lost everything. I’m sure that once Irma has blown through Florida and several other Southeastern states and the stormwaters have receded, we will see the same kind of outpouring of support.
But too often the tireless efforts of our military members and first responders are overlooked or quickly forgotten after disasters like these.
As I sat and listened to people discussing current events before a Mass at Boston College High School on Friday, I was moved by their concern for the victims of the many natural disasters and horrific storms that have unfolded throughout the world in recent weeks, especially the historic hurricane in Texas and the one expected to hit Florida today.
But the conversation kept coming back to the heroic efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard, National Guard, Navy and FEMA. One man said, “They are unsung American heroes, but never get the credit they deserve. When people are fleeing harm, they are running into it.”
This made me think back to the massive earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. It was members of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, operating out of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, who led the relief effort and helped save thousands of lives. It wasn’t until several years after the quake that a Catholic Relief Services director at the Vatican told me about the heroic work of the men and women of the U.S. military who responded to Haiti.
We rarely hear about the job first responders do while responding to crisis situations. This includes police officers, firefighters and medical professionals. When people find themselves in situations they can’t control, it’s brave people like these who come to the rescue.
A student at Mass on Friday said it perfectly: “We can say a prayer that God will protect these men and women whose safety and lives are on the line every day. And that they return these people, who are willing to sacrifice to help people they don’t even know, home to their families.” Raymond L. Flynn is a former mayor of Boston and former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.