Guardians,
When I visited Haiti earlier this month, I met BMC Paul Cormier who was working with PSU 307. Chief Cormier is a Reservist who happened to be in Haiti working for a non-profit charity when the earthquake struck on 12 January. After hearing his story, I asked him to write a guest blog about his amazing experiences. Chief Cormier's efforts highlight that we are Guardians whether we are on or off duty. Thank you Chief.
From BMC Paul Cormier (the person wearing the Booney hat in the photo):
Greetings fellow Guardians,
I was my honor to serve in Haiti during this massive post earthquake rebuilding effort. During 1994, my port security unit, PSU 309, was deployed to Haiti for Operation Uphold Democracy. Following that deployment, I started a non-profit charity, the Soleil Foundation, which provides education to Haitian orphans. Our foundation is located in near the town of Leogane in the village of Brossier.
I was working at our foundation headquarters when the earthquake occurred (on 12 January). This was my first experience with an earthquake. Fortunately, God decided to spare me. Immediately following the quake, after we accounted for and cared for our personnel, I mustered up my first-aid trained personnel and medical supplies and proceeded on foot to the nearby villages to triage and administer first aid. We were overwhelmed and worked throughout the night. After triaging and assisting over 300 people, we returned to our village an bedded down for the night in a cow pasture.
The aftershocks seemed to come about every 45 minutes. It was a sleepless night. The following day we were able to better perform a damage assessment. Most of the structures in our area were collapsed or seriously damaged. We had no electricity and no cell phone coverage. But, we had each other. We were very happy that we were able to help the injured. We walked to town (Leogane) that afternoon and witnessed the widespread devastation and death. It was so sad to see everything gone and so many lives lost.
The story goes on and on, but I'll save that for another time.
My point here is that, as a member of the Coast Guard, our work doesn't end when we end our duty day. Our training and experience allows us to continue to perform our duties both at home and abroad, wherever we may be when our services are needed.
I am proud to say The Coast Guard was there, assisting the people of Haiti, within minutes of one the most devastating earthquakes of our time.
When finally meeting up with CDR Deptula from MSST Boston, I asked for and was allowed to stay in Haiti to assist with the recovery and rebuilding effort. It was a true honor.
