“I Have a Story to Tell”
Tsgt William Kaufman
Having just gotten back from the most memorable trip of my 32 year military career, I was told to tell my, well, OUR
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story. Was only 15 days but was filled with a life time of memories. I got a call on Oct. 29 that people were needed to
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go to NYC to assist in the cleanup and recovery from Superstorm Sandy. As always, the 107 never has a problem
getting volunteers and, as always, I’m one of them.
We left Niagara on Oct. 30 , flew into Newburgh, NY and then bussed to Camp Smith in Peekskill which was used
as a staging area for the task force. Camp Smith lost power and there wasn’t much to do but stand around and wait for
the call that we were heading out. The first day we waited all day and finally around 2100 were told to call it a night and
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try to get some sleep. The 2 day was about the same thing but, at about 2130, we were told to be ready to roll in two
hours. So now it’s either try to take a nap or stay up. About 10 minutes later, the word came down again to be ready to
roll in 20 minutes. We were packed, and I mean packed, into a bus, luggage and all, and driven an hour and a half into
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NYC. All the way down I’m seeing lights and thinking “okay this isn’t so bad.” Finally as we crossed over 42 street in
Manhattan and the world went totally black, no lights, nothing, pitch black.
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We arrived at the Lexington Armory around
0030 and were told to grab some floor as we
would have a busy day tomorrow. Well, we
no sooner put our heads down and were told
to get up. We had a mission and what a
mission it was. We had to walk about 10
blocks to Bellevue Hospital. There were
probably 100 ambulances out front which
pretty much told us we were in for a long
night. When we got inside, we met the unit
that was there from the day and were told
we were going to help evacuate patients that
didn’t get out before the storm hit. There
was no power but only lights from a
generator. Okay, start at the top, 18 floors
up, and bring them down on a stretcher. A
daunting task to say the least especially at
54 years old but it’s amazing how the
adrenaline kicks in and those 18 floors
disappear quickly.
The smell of first room we entered hit us like a brick and I thought oh-my-god I can’t do this. But after the first one is
down you turn around and get back up as fast as possible to get the next one and on-and-on. Eight hours later we had
safely evacuated 72 patients of all conditions. Some were in a coma and there were violent ones; there were prison
and hospice wards as well. At 0930, sweating head to toe, legs burning beyond belief, we headed out exhausted, and
as we left the hospital we were greeted by probably 100 people giving us a standing ovation for what we had just done.
We were told by the hospital staff that if we not have been there, they fully expected to lose at least 100 patients if not
more.
Having been up for almost 30 hours, we headed out again after getting a few hours of sleep. This time we went to
Lower Manhattan for food and water distribution. With no means of transportation, we walked about 25 blocks to unload
trucks of food and water at apartment complexes. We estimated we walked 8-10 miles in the dark. There was water
everywhere, cars piled up that had been washed away, and people in the dark cheering for us. The people of NYC are
what made this trip so rewarding.
On the 3 night, the Army asked if we had any “fuels” people with us and, well, that’s what I do. They asked if we
could help them with a refueling mission in Brooklyn. MSgt Jordan and I were driven by Humvee to Brooklyn not really
knowing what we were getting into. As we turned the final corner, my jaw dropped and I let out a few expletives--LOL.
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There were cars and people lined up as far as I could see. The Army estimated at least 3,000 vehicles were in line
waiting all day for the 10 gallons of gas being given out by FEMA. They had a 10,000 gallon tank truck set up with two
hoses off the back. One was for cars and one for whatever containers people had. Some had stood in line for 12-13
hours. I told NYPD, first thing, that if they didn’t have an authorized fuel container, we weren’t putting gas in it. I saw
milk jugs, orange juice bottles, mop buckets, you name it. Jay and I immediately took over and got a rhythm going that
continued from about 1600 until well after 0100. I tried to make the best of the situation and do whatever I could to
make them laugh or smile after waiting so long. At around 2330, one of the pumps ran dry and I asked the NYPD how
many officers they had there. I was told about 12-15 and I said can you call more. I knew once the truck ran dry it was
going to get ugly really fast. And boy was I right. When the police told the people there was no more gas, words,
threats, the expletives started flying. Most understood but quite a few got really angry. There were still 3-500 people
waiting when the gas ran out and they got us out of there as quick as they could.
The next four days we spent around the armory unloading and distributing food and water. There were 27 tractor
trailers with over a million MRE’s to hand out to the needy. We had distribution points set up around the city where
people could go to get what they needed.
During the second week, we received a new mission and a
fresh batch of troops from Niagara. Our new mission was door-
to-door Health and Welfare Checks on people in Rockaway,
Queens which was one of the hardest hit areas. The
devastation was indescribable. Roads were covered in deep
sand, cars were washed away, and homes were filled with water
and debris. The boardwalk was completely gone.
Our job was to go door-to-door checking on people and seeing
what they needed. Again, there were high rise buildings with no
elevators. The first one was 27 stories of mostly non-English
speaking Russian and Polish immigrants. But after two weeks
of seeing no one they were very happy to have someone
checking on them. We spent the next four days doing this.
From upper class apartments to the “projects,” all together, I was
told we hit over 7,000 residences. After two weeks of no power
or hot water, trust me, they were not the best conditions to work
in. The smell was overwhelming.
I know everyone has their own story to tell but this is mine. Like I said, in 32 years of military service, I have never
done anything even close to this and I’ve been in some rough situations. What made this trip the most rewarding was
the spirit and resilience of these people that lost so much. Some are not going to see power for 2-3 months but their
attitudes are amazing. I hope something like this never happens again but if it does I hope I get the chance to do my
part again.
Thank you SCOLers for helping the victims of Sandy in Breezy Point
Bob and I traveled to Breezy Point (New York City) the weekend of November 17 th to see family and
to distribute your generous gift card and cash donations. The fire and water damage was enormous
and it affected every family in the area one way or another. We spent some time as volunteers in the
clean-up effort and talked with folks who were still in shock over the devastation. But Breezy Point
people are resilient, and the community will come back stronger than ever. Still, it was very sad to see
what they were going through, and it made us feel fortunate to be living in WNY with our cold and
snow.
Thank you so much for your generous donations, which were part of the $4,500 that was raised. With
the help of my sister we were able to distribute the donations to some 20 displaced families whose
homes were either in ruins or very heavily damaged. Your big hearts and WNY generosity
overwhelmed everyone, and they all send you a very big Thank You.
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Thanks to everyone, Linda O’Donnell
