Operation Friendship 1955

Operations Friendship: Amistadhttps://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/humanitarian/20th-century/1950-1959/1955-tampico-mexico-hurricane-janet.html

Suddenly?there?were?no Mexicans,?no?Americans, no?border-just?human?beings?rediscovering?the?brotherhood of man.?These few days have been worth a century?of diplomacy?between our?countries."??????

The new year. 1955, came in like the others. but the rainy season and storms????that were unleashed seemed to be more intense. A real weather phenomenon, three hurricanes, would sweep one small area in seventeen days, subjecting Tampico to twenty-four days of mounting floods. Cyclone or hurricane. any wind of such intensity by another name would still be a terri fying experience. (I am accustomed to the term cyclone because that is the name given to such tropical storms in Spanish. The headlines. “Otro ciclon amenaza nuestra costa" is a familiar thing to the people around Tampico and the gulf coast.)

????????From 1933 through l 955 I went through so many of these storms that I finally decided to leave the coast and I moved to Mexico City in time to Iive through the. July l 957 earthquake! Guess I'm something of a "stormy petrel." but if one can walk away from such things, I count myself a winner. September 17. 1955. dawned gray. gusty, and very gloomy. The clouds seemed to be all-enveloping and clipped down to the roof tops. You had the feeling like the nursery rhyme. "Heavy, heavy hangs over your head!" It rained without ceasing. leaving me with a sense of foreboding which gradually took over.?

The headlines of "El Mundo'' and “El Sol'' were no comfort-"Hilda'' was headed straight for Tampico, and we were trying to recover from the marks that "Gladys'' had left. I had two guests with me. neither had ever gone through a cyclone, so I had to keep calm to keep them from becoming too frightened. I guess my performance was convincing because they tried to laugh off my preparations such as filling the bathtub with water. buying candles, kerosene, and making sure that the lanterns would work, rounding up everything that could be used for mops, as well as rolling up the rugs and moving furniture and breakables away from the windows for they might blow in.

?Previous experiences were vivid in my memory. but I tried to busy myself in various ways, and the radio bulletins continued to sound their grave announcements of impending suffering. The people in the lower areas were being moved to higher places and public buildings were being readied to take care of them. I went from one window to another and from all sides the weather was the same, ominous! I picked up my phone t<: see if it worked, it did! I called the mayor to ask him how things looked to him. He gave me no comfort as he said that the people up the river were trapped and there was no way to reach them. Trains couldn't move through the steadily rising water and the highways were already under water. Motorboats couldn't travel against the current and there was no place for planes to land. I mulled over this bleak picture for a moment and then said, "What about helicopters?" The mayor said that some had been promised. but there was no sign of them at that time. I told him that I couldn't promise helicopters, but I would see, what might be done. I placed a call to Governor Allan Shivers of Texas. but since it was Saturday, he was not in his office, and no one could give me any clue as to his whereabouts. Then I thought about the Texas Good Neighbor commission and my friend Neville Penrose who was its chairman. so, I called him in Ft. Worth. Neville was about to leave for New York. but when l gave him a quick outline of our situation, he gave me names of people to contact in Austin-William L. McGill and Lynn Rhodes of defense and disaster relief. When he reached New York, he would round up more help from that area.

For?the?next?fifteen hours?I talked?to?Mr.?McGill?and?Mr.?Rhodes?several?timesand they found?many ways?to?help.?By nine?that?night?Mr.?McGill called?to say?thateveryone?was?alerted but they?had?to?have permission?from?the?president?of?Mexico?tobring?in?helicopters.?For?a moment?I?was?stumped. but?not?for?long.?I?had?gone?too?far?togive?up. I?remembered?a?good?friend,?Manuel?Guzman?Willis,?then?senator?for?the?stateof Tamaulipas, was?in?town?so?I called?him?and told?him?what?I?had?accomplished. Hepromised?to?help?and?being?a?ham?radio?operator,?he?could communicate?with any andeveryone. Within?a few hours?Mr.?McGill?called again that all was?ready for?take-off justas?soon?as?it?was?safe?for?helicopters?to?fly?in.?(The?senator?had?called?him?to?tell?him thatthe?president.?Adolfo Ruiz Cortines. had?given?permission for?the?helicopters to fly into?Tampico.)

By?this?time?the?storm?was?reaching?its?peak?and?debris?was?flying?in?all?directions,?breaking windows and the water was pouring in. My guests.?maids.?and?I?mopped all night long,keeping the coffee?pot going for?occasional?breaks.?The?heat?was terrific.?but?with no electricity?our?fans and air?conditioners were useless.?The winds had blown away most of the screens,?so if the windows were opened?the?mosquitoes,?roaches,?scorpions, rats and even?snakes?were?trying?to get out of the water.?But?the?roar?of?the?helicopterswas?a?welcome?sound?when?we?heard?them?fly?over?about?thirty-six?hours?after I?calledfor?help.

The details of my experience during the storm?I'll skip,?but my place suffered water damage?and?we?all?suffered?from?fright?and?fatigue.?We?mopped?and?held?thingstogether throughout?the night.?At?the peak of?the storm?our building?rocked?perilouslyand?the?ants?in my stomach?felt like?squirrels!?Keeping calm was the hardest?thing to do for all eyes were on me since?I had assured my guests that?we were all perfectly safe and if my appearance?was, so they felt that things were?not?too?bad.?Inside?of?meI?kept?praying?and?saying?·'Don't?panic!"?but?to?say that I was?not afraid would?be?theunderstatement?of?the?year!

Admiral?Milton?E. Miles ("Mary" to those of us who worked with him and learned to love him)?flew?in?from Panama?to?take?charge?of?Operacion Amistad?(Operation Friendship)?and?took?over?the?country?club for his headquarters.?Amazing how?fast?thenavy.?army.?and marines readied?for action.?It seemed that within minutes they had radio and telephone communications,?water plants set up and their kitchen equipment functioning while the country club grounds and buildings?buzzed.?The local authoritieswere pin-pointing?maps with?the?most?urgent?need?and the helicopters were on their?wayto bring people?in.?Helicopter pilots said that?this?was?the?worst?disaster that they hadever?seen.

Most people in Tampico had never seen a helicopter and they were completely captivated by them.?referring?to?them?as?"los?Angeles?del?cielo"?(angels?from?heaven).The?airport?was?jammed?with?people?who?begged?a?ride?or?walked?there?to?get?a?closelook?at?the?"wonder?birds."?I borrowed a?pickup?from?a?friend?and?sent?my?maids?andsome?refugees?to?watch?the?helicopters?fly?out?with?provisions and return w?ith?floodvictims. I wish?I had a recording of one man who went into ecstasies?over the helicopters and their crews.

How?efficiently?they?took?hold?of?the?situation?and?in?a?matter?of?minutes.?handled?the equipment,?and?delivered?their?loads.?They?had?a?little?trouble?with?some?farmers?who?refused?to leavetheir?tierra?(land)?flooded?though?it?was. One?woman?with?a?tiny?baby?in?her?arms?resisted boarding?thehelicopter?until?one?of?the?crew?took?the?child?in?his?arms?and?was?lifted?into?the?plane,?then the motherfollowed as rapidly as she could!?One helicopter crew picked up twelve passengers?and?when?theylanded?on?the?country?club?grounds,?they?had?thirteen!?As?far?as?I?know?that?was?the first?baby?to?beborn?aloft?in?a?helicopter! A?man?was?lifted from?a?rooftop,?then?later?was?picked?up?a second, then a third time. The crew questioned him as to how this could happen??He answered them by saying that he enjoyed the ride so much that at great risk, swimming part of the way. he had?returned?to?his?spotto?get?other?trips?"en?esos fantasticos?aparatos!"?(In those?fantastic?machines).

Planes?of?all?types?flew?in?from?every?direction,?all?carrying?medicines.?food,?and?clothing?so thatthe?airport?was?stacked?at?all?hours?with?such?a?congested?situation?is?a?miracle?that?we?didn't have?aserious?accident,?or?an?epidemic.?We?had?water?everywhere,?but?not?a?drop?fit?to?drink.?Later, the two aircraft: carriers,?Saipan and Siboney anchored outside the jetties sending us water?from?their?supply.Howard?Reed?flew?to?Texas?and?brought?six?water-purifying?machines?and?donated?them.?He also brought tarpaulins to cover the food stacked at the airport. and many other things including a plane load of food to distribute among the needy.?He brought Neville Penrose down from?Fort?Worth?to?seehow?things?were?going?and?then?flew?him?back?in?a?few?hours.?Nobody,?not?even Howard,?will?everknow?how?much?he?did?on?his?own?and?on?the?instructions?from?his?employer,?Mr.?Clint?Murchison.When word?came?that?hurricane?Janet was?heading our?way?the?helicopters began?to make ready to clear out?for safety reasons.?Somehow,?I can't?remember?how much damage Janet did for she?wasnumber three. but all three Gladys,?Hilda,?and Janet stirred up a lot of destruction and?we?were?sobogged?down?by?this?time?that?we?scarcely?took?notice,?but?how?little?we?knew?that?the?worst?was yet?tocome!

The general of?the?eighth zone?and?the?mayor got?me?out?of?bed?at eleven o'clock one?nightto?ask?me?to?help?them?give?an?informal?thank?you?(a?copita?and?abrazo)?for?the?crews?of?the?helicopters.?Under?the?circumstances they, the mayor?and?the?general. hesitated?to?have?anythingthat?looked?like?a?fiesta?for fear?that?it?might?start?a?riot,?so?they?asked?me?to?have?the?get?together?inmy third-floor?apartment?away?from?the?public?view.?I?abandoned?my?relief?group?that?clay?and?threw?allmy efforts into preparing the merienda (refreshments).?It wasn't easy as food was scarce and people?were?so?busy?with?their?own?problems?that?they?couldn't?help,?but?Mrs.?Posey?Johnson?of?Johnny's?restaurant came to my aid with sandwiches and snacks, and?I convinced my old stand-by tamalerathat?I?had?to?have?some?of?her?tamalitos?for?the?party?for?the?"pilotos?de?los?angeles?de! cielo."?We invited?the?crews, the?top officials, the?doctors?who worked with?us.?fifty-two in all.

That?night?at?the?party?we?were?told?by?officials?that?a?great?wall?of?water?was heading down river?and?was?sure?to?cause?us?a?lot?of?grief.?that?was?September?27th.?The?greatest?flight?of?imagination?could?not?picture?what?was?in?store?for?us.?Some?took?certain?precautions.?but?no?one would?have?believed?that?the?center?of?Tampico?would?be?reduced?to?sixteen?blocks?of?dry?land.

Bef1xe?the?full?crest?of?the?flood?hit?us?we?\Vere?already?cut?off?from?the?airport?in?two?places?so?that even though Tampico could be reached by air.?and only by air. we.?in the city.?could be reached only?by helicopters and they were leaving!

--Hilda"?was?no?picnic.?but?we?seemed?to?forget?all?about?it?when?the?water?beganto?rise.?We?thought we were prepared and conditioned for it.?but no one could imagine such added misery.?Many?people?from?the?surrounding?areas?moved?into?town?until?itwas?almost?impossible?to?get?through?the?masses?in?any direction.?I?remember seeing aHuasteca indian.?in?pajama?suit.?barefoot.?with?his?pants?rolled?hip?high.?wet?all?over. carrying a?red?rooster in?his?arms?and?walking?as?if in a?trance.?I?asked him if?he were looking for?someone and his deep-set sad eyes looked at?me?as if?I?were someone from another world.?then he seemed to come back to reality and answered. --No.Senora.?pero?muchas?gracias. ?·?From?the?way?that?he?carried?the?red?rooster?I?think?thatwas?his?only?possession.

One?night?I?needed?to?go?to?the?mayor's?office?and?got?caught?in?an?angry?mob.I?fought desperately.?but?got?nowhere.?finally, I?stopped?struggling?and?shouted.?·Tmtrying to?get?help?for you,?but?if?you?won’t?let?me?get?through,?there?is?nothing?that?I?cando: ·?With?this?they?eased?up?and?three soldiers came to my rescue,?so?I?made it with only a few bruises. not a pleasant experience!

After?that?I?removed?my?Red?Cross?band?and?pin.?so?as?not?to?be?identified?with?a?relief?agency. Admiral miles secured further help for Tampico when the?U.S. destroyerBassett and the cargo ship Antares were sent with their medical teams. rescue craft.?and vehicles.

By this time Carlos?Paterne, representative of the American Red Cross. had permission to give out?supplies?in?the?disaster?and?I?had?joined forces?with him.Being?an?American citizen and?a dama de la Cruz Roja Mexicana" made me a go-between the two red cross organizations.?Both worked well together, and?Mr. Paterne turned out to be?something of a --superman.'· I?saw him during some very trying moments.?such as?the night?that?a riot broke?out in?the plaza?and?the mob?was headed?for the municipal palace for, they had heard that a lot of food was stored there. Carlos calmed?them?by?promising?thatplenty?of?food?would?be?given?out?the?following?day.?and?it?was.?1800?people?were fed in the plaza alone and there were ten other food stations scattered throughout the city.

That wall of water sucked?everything into it within reach and carried it off with terrific speed.?The?whirlpools?were?awful,?anything?caught?in?that?force?was?dashed?tobits?against?the?first?object it encountered.?Rescue boats full of people with their scanty belongings were capsized and?splintered?at?every?corner. Howard?reed?kept?a?boat?andmen?on?constant vigil?for?victims.?One woman with?a?tiny?baby in her?arms?was?picked up in front?of?our building. She was?taken?to the?hospital.?but she was so?badly batteredthat she?died, and the baby had been held so?tight that life?was?squeezed?out?of?it.

Another?woman?and child?were?saved?as?were?two?little?old?blind?men whocame?floating downstream?at night clinging?to?each?other?and?shouting?for?help.?Stillanother?woman.?heavy?with?child. was swung over the housetops and across the raging stream on an old tire rigged up with ropes on a pulley. She was almost dumpedinto the water at mid-stream.?These and many other sights that?I?scarcely?believe?anymore.?they?seem?like?a?horrible?nightmare.?The?cries?for?help?in?the?dark, were?the?worstof?all. to?hear?someone?crying?for?help?and?not?being?able?to?see?him?or?to?help.

I?continued?to?work?with?the?various?relief?agencies?and?on?October?third?I?left?home?at?7 a.m.?to work?all?day?in?the broiling sun?putting up tents?on?the?grounds?of the?tuberculosis hospital?and?finding?food?for?1500?people?that?would?be?brought?there?by?nightfall.?I?gotback?to?town?at?8:30 p.m. and?found that?I couldn’t get home.?the water had risen?so much?that day.?I went to the mayor’s?office.?creeping?over?bodies?lying?on?the?bare?floor?careful?not?to?step?onthem.?The?mayor?told?me?to go?to?his?home?instead?of trying to reach?my?apartment.?Ithanked him?and?left?his?office, with intentions?to?try?to?reach?my?own?home?someway.somehow.?I?wandered?through?the?dark?streets with?no?flashlight?or?even?a?match andeven?tried to?rent?a?boat?to?take?me?to?my?building.?but?the current?was?too?risky.?I began to?eye?the?Tampico Hotel. thinking?that I could climb?to?the?top over the?roofs,?but?at?thatmoment Mr. Gabriel Legorreta?and?two friends?came?along.

I convinced him that?I was determined to reach my own place, so he and hisfriends?began to remove?their?shoes?and roll up their trousers.?I took?off my shoes and tucked?up my skirt as high as?I?could?and?into?the?water?the?four?of?us?went!?They?heldon?to?me?on?one?side?and?to?the building?on the?other?and?finally?they?managed?to?pushme?into?the?door?of?my?building.?Home?never?looked?so?good!?My maids were relieved to?see me safe and sound: they were about to ask Howard Reed to?send out?a searchparty for me!

Several?clays?I?couldn’t?go?out,?as?the?water?kept?rising?but?I?watched?OperacionAmistad?from?the roof of our building.?Rescue?teams?were performing miracles?on Altamira Street working around?the?clock?with?very?little?food.?I?rigged?up?a?basket?on?arope?and?lowered?food?that?we?could spare.?Sometimes?I?put?in?an?occasional?copita?tocheer?them,?usually?tequila.

The roar of?the helicopters was such that you couldn’t hear a normal conversation. They flew?from dawn on into the night in a never-ending line of rescuing people.?When darkness came?people?sent up?fireworks?or built tires ontheir?roofs as a?signal?for help!

We?had?five?feet?of?churning?water?on Altamira?Street for?a?week.?The?navystrung cables?around the buildings?for people to grasp to avoid being carried away by the?current.?Cars and trucks?left on?the street?were?completely covered?and?some?werecarried away.?I?had?little?markers?on?a building across?the?street that I?watched anxiouslyfor?signs?of?water receding,?instead?the markers?disappeared,?and?I?had?to?select?othershigher.

Naval units came to our building with orders to evacuate,?I agreed that the hysterical women?and?children?should?leave, but?I would?remain.?They told?me?that?therewere?explosives?in the?building?next?to?ours?and?who?knows?what would happen when the?water?reached?a certain?height.?I suggested?that?they might remove?the?gas tanks. But?they?said that?their?orders?were?to?take the people?out.?This?was?a?sobering?thought.?but?I?was?determined?to?stay.?So,?I?said,?··o.?K.?you?have done?your?job in warning?me.?I?release?you?of?all?responsibility?and?if?the?building?blows,I?blow with it!?By?that?time,?I?had?brought?out?a?bottle?of my?good?scotch?and?them. beingsoaked?and?cold looked?at?it?and?said...?It?is?beautiful.?but?the?name?isn’t?right!?(They?were from Kentucky.)?I?made the correction and we parted?friends!

After?they?left.?I?took?my?maids?aside?and?told?them?the?seriousness?of?thesituation?and?how?they should go while?they?had?a?chance?to leave.?but they had heard my?discussion with?the?navy and said that if I was not?leaving,?they?would stay?with me, "'Si?morimos, morimos?juntas y bien acompanadas!"?(If?we?die,?we?die?together?and?in?good?company.)?I?had?a?lump?in?mythroat,?and?I hugged?them?both,?my?faithful?Petra?and?Chavela.?(I?didn't?tell?them?about?theexplosives?until?the water?went?down,?for?after?all,?one?of?us?walking?the?floor?at?nightchecking?the?gas?tanks?with?my?flashlight?was?enough!)

All throughout?the?flood my phone worked (miracle of miracles!) so I kept in touch with Mexico?City (Chico Willy?and?Tubby?Silliman)?and?Texas (Neville Penrose). They?tried?to?get?me?to?leave Tampico, but I was determined to see this disaster to the encl.?My phone bill was mountainous,?but?that?was?part?of?my?contribution?to?the?cause.that?and?the?fifteen?pounds?that?I?lost?in?days?of?exhausting?work?and?little?food. I?took?a lunch?with?me?every day,?but?there was always?someone who?seemed?to?need?it?morethan?I so l gave?it?away. All?of?us suffered?from?fatigue and shock.

The?Tampiqueno?Club?was?wonderful. Jimmy?Bradbury,?its?president,?made?anappeal?through the radio in?Houston for help for us ·'damnificados" (distressed ones).He received generous?contributions?which?he sent to me?for?distribution. I held?back?thegreater?part of it until the other?help was exhausted?and?the?people?began to go down with malaria and?were?still?in great need.?I?was?a committee?of?one,?so I?went?to?theirhouses?to?investigate?their?needs?before?putting?them?on?my?list.?I?gave?themmedicines,?food,?and?bought?mattresses?from?the?factory?for?others,?getting?a?receipt?for everything?that?was?given?out. At?the?end?of?the?Operation?Amistad,?I?mailed?the?receiptsto Mr. Kaplan?for?the?club's?records.The?Saipan?and Siboney brought larger helicopters, we also got two ''ducks'' that were able?to travel on land and water.?These were used to cross the?flooded places between town and the airport. They carried all the food and supplies across for us and ferried those who had to go to and?from?the airport.

One?night?Mr.?Patterne?and?his?workers?took?off?at?ten,?just?before?a?Norte(norther)?was?due?to hit us. going to all the disaster shelters giving out blankets to the sleeping bodies of the poor, tired,?homeless?people.?They?distributed?I0,000?blanketsthat?night,?ending?Operacion?Cobija (Operation?Cover) at three in the morning. The next clay he spent in the kiosk of the plaza dispensing food to the masses.?It was said that19,000 pounds of cheese were given away. Then the following night he and his?helpersset?out on Operacion?Boleto?(Operation Ticket) giving?out tickets?for?food?and?clothingto all that they found sleeping on the streets or makeshift shelters.?He asked me?to goalong,?but?I was?too?tired?to?do?so.

In?Tampico?l?was?so?fortunate?in?locating Meche,?Mercedes?Gutierez?de?Avila,?awoman?of?humble?birth,?sweet and kind who had?the most?wonderful?little?hands.?She performed?miracles with them as a?masseuse.?Since I was one of her?regular customers (or patient) she came to me regularly,?twice?a?week,?but?if?I?needed?her?more?often,?shealways?managed?to?work?me?in.?whether?it?be?morning or night she always?managed to help me. Those were clays to be remembered!

I?first?got?acquainted?with?her at?the hotel's?turkish?baths?where?several of?us women?gathered for a?cookout, cooling of then a massage.?Later she left the hotel baths and worked only on?her?special?customers. She?carried?her?little?bag?of?lotions?anda?rolling?pin. That rolling?pin?kept?me trimmed down and in great shape, and in good condition as?I?had very few illnesses.Some of the lotions she made?herself?from herbs?and?roots.?For?a?stomach?upset?shealways?had "'un?tesito''?(a?little?tea).?I?became?a?firm?believer?in?her?·'tesitos.''?Meche·scharges?were?minimal,?and?I?always?tried?to add some little extra for her pleasure, such as having a good meal ready when she arrived. On wet,?rainy?nights?in?winter?I alwayshad?a?mini-sized?drink,?usually?tequila,?ready?to?warm?her?innards.?My servants?loved?heras?I?did?and?were?ready?to?do?what?they?could?for?her.

When?Tampico?was?hit?by?the?hurricanes,?Meche?knew?that?I?was?doing?welfarework?all?day with?the?storm?victims?and?ended?up?each?night?exhausted.?She?would?wearher?bathing?suit?under?a?muumuu?and?when she reached the deep water,?she slipped out of the muumuu, placed it on her head?along?with?her?bag?and?walked?the?rest?of?theway?to?my?place?through?the?deep?water?to?give?me?a?good?rubdown,?have?her?copita, agood?supper,?and?then?walk?all?the?way?back?to?her?home,?working?her?way?through?thewater?and through?the?darkness.

Maria,?Petra's?sister,?and?her?son,?Ernesto,?would?stand?in?line?at?5?a.m?beforethe?bakery which?opened?at?the?break?of?day,?so?they?would?be?sure?to?get?bolillos?(rolls)to?take?to?me?so?that?I could?feed?the?refugees?in?our?building.?Ernesto?would?drive?as?faras?he?could?safely,?then?remove his?shoes, roll?up?his?pants?and?wade?through?the?watercarrying?the?bolillos?on?his?head?to?my?apartment. They did this every day until the Navy cleared?the building of refugees. These are some of?the?unknown?heroes!

When?our?water?supply?finally?returned?it?was?so?highly?chlorinated?that?it?wasnauseating?so?a great many of us became dehydrated. I?was so tired that?I asked my doctor?for some kind of ··pep''?pills?to?carry?me?through?the?day.?The?little?stimulantbecame?a?part?of?my?breakfast.?and?soon?I found?that?I?had?to?have?a?sleeping?pill?tocounteract?the?effects?of?the?first;?small?wonder?that I?could?break?that?habit?in?a?shorttime!

There?were?several?organizations?working?as?we?were.?the Salvation?Army?andvarious religious?groups, but I?worked?only?with?the Red?Cross,?so I?knew?exactly?whatthey?accomplished, and?it?was?a?tremendous?job?that?they?did.?We?had?sorting?anddistributing?centers?for?the?clothes,?shoes, etc. the shoes had to be?matched.?We wore gauze?masks, but the heat. plus,?the lint and?dust that this work involved got into our throats?and lungs.?so?much of?it penetrated that many of us ended?up?with?bad?colds. Some?of?my?helpers?wanted?to?go?ahead?and?get?the?work?done?while?I?went?to?look after some other?business and when?I?came back,?I?couldn't?believe my eyes!?Dozens of boxes of?shoes,?all?sizes,?and?colors,?had?been?opened?and?piled?high?like?amountain.?I?can’t?tell?you?how I reacted,?inwardly,?but?bless?them,?they?worked?longhours?to?match?all?the?shoes?and?have?them?ready?to?be?given?away.

To those who were marooned,?but safe on higher ground. the?helicoptersdropped packages?of food and household articles. One story says that a woman who had received such a package was busy washing her clothes with one of the powders the package contained.?but she complained to her?comadre?that?the?powder?didn"tlather,?so?she?kept?adding?more?powder.?insisting?that?it?should?be good. for?after?all?the gringos?brought?it!?Finally,?someone?came?along?who?could?read?the print?on the package?and?told?her?that?she?was?using?milk. not?soap

After?the?helicopters?evacuated?the?greater?part?of?the?town,?we?were?left?in?aghost?town, great?silence?and?deep?loneliness?coming?over?us.?The?only?noise?was?that?ofthe?rushing?water,?eternally the?water roared!?When the water began to?go down, we had a?heavy coating of muck and?mud?along?with?the?wreckage?of?everything?that?theflood?had?torn?asunder,?you?have?never?seen?such devastation!?Where to begin was the question and the stench was ghastly!?Decayed garbage, rotting bodies of animals and even some humans remained, it was unbearable!

I?made?a?tour?of?the?disaster?camps?twice?a?day?to?check?for?any?outbreak?of fever?and?symptoms of disease. Their wet bodies, dirty clothes and babies withstomach ailments produced a?sad?and?odorous?combination.?Men?with?tanks?ofdisinfectants?on?their?backs?sprayed?the?places twice?daily?and?the?combination?of?thedisinfectants?and?everything?else?was?almost?intolerable.

The?helicopter?crews?and?the?American?Red?Cross?did?a?magnificent?job,?not?onlyin?the?rescue of lives, but improving?relations as?well.?Before?they left Tampico the newspapers published?an?invitation?to?the?town?to?go?to?the?country?club?groundsSunday?afternoon?to?despedir?(say?goodbye) to their?friends.?They came in droves,?big, little, old, and?young. Little old men and women who?had?been?lifted?from the clutches of?a?watery grave?hugged?their salvadores?(saviors)?kissed?their?hands?and?shed?tearsover?them,?an?unrehearsed?demonstration?that?came?straight?from?the?heart.?The authorities?presented?Admiral Miles and his men with gold medals, St. Christopher on one?side?and?on?the?other?''Eterno?agradecimiento?de?Tampico,?Octubre?1955?''?(Eternalgratitude?of Tampico,?October?1955.)?Later,?Admiral?Miles?was?given?the?Aztec?eagle?inthe?presence?of?the?dignitaries and our?United States?ambassador, Francis White, who flew down?from Mexico City for?the occasion.

In February 1956,?we?had a visit from the commander-in-chief?of?the United States fleet, also?Ambassador?and?Mrs.?White?came?down?to?join?in?with?the?celebration.The?commander-in-chief?gave a beautiful?reception on board the?U.S.S. Wisconsin on the?afternoon of February 11, and that evening the United States?consul and Mrs. George Whittinghill, in combination with the American Society of Tampico, gave a cocktail?party at the country club for the local authorities and the officers?of?the?U.S.S.Wisconsin?and?the?U.S.S.?Fiske.?This?celebration?was?in?order?after?the?ordeal?that?we had been through.

Later,?a?publisher?brought?out?an?album?containing?pictures?of?the?flood?andrescue?operations which I sent?to President?Eisenhower, and I have a note from?his personal secretary saying,

'Dear Mrs. Burden, the President?has received the?collection of photographs depicting the disastrous floods in?Mexico last year.?He asked me to thank you?for your interest in sending him this booklet.''

In September?1958, the Mexican government?invited Admiral?and Mrs. Miles down so they could see the reconstruction of the city?of Tampico and to give those?to whom?he gave aid a chance to express their appreciation for his help in 1955. The Mileses?drove to?Mexico City where Senator and Mrs. Manuel Guzman Willis?and Ijoined them. Then we flew to Tampico in Pemex·s?beautiful?plane,?"el?Petrolero,"?andwe?stayed?in?the?Pemex?guest?house?in?the?Aguila?colony,?which?was?a block?from?myold?Tampico?home,?a?strange?feeling!?We?went?to?many?fiestas?in?Tampico?and CiudadMadero,?then?took?a?tour?of?the?Huasteca?country,?el?Higo,?Tempoal.?Platon?Sanchez, Panuco,?and?Tantoyuca.

The admiral was received everywhere with?great demonstrations of affection. The best?food,?the gayest musicians (huapangueros)?with special verses composed on the spot praising and honoring?the?admiral.?School?childrenhad a?holiday and?turned?out?in?their?best?and?lined?up?to?recite?poems and?presentgifts?to?''el?Salvador." Mrs.?Miles?was?loaded?down?with?many?flowers. The?admiraland his?group were?met outside the?city?limits and?escorted?with?municipal bands, blowing whistles,?beating drums, and great shouts of welcome from the authorities, as well as the townspeople. It was?magnificent!

At?one of the?fiestas?who?should?turn?up,?but the?little?boy who?was?born?inthe?helicopter! He?was?all?dressed?up?in?a?charro?suit?and?walked?up?to?the?admiraland?shook?hands?with?him,?then?presented him with a family treasure, an ancient piece dug up from the mounds of the?Huastecas.?He?was?a?cute?little?fellow?withgreat?round?brown?eyes?and?an?air?of?being?just?a?little?different?from?the rest, as if to?say "Yo naci en un?helicoptero!"'?(I?was born in a?helicopter!)

The?admiral"s?car?was?sent?to?the?border?and?when?the?fiestas?were?over,?wetook?him?and Mrs.?Miles?to?Matamoros?in?the?Petrolero.?The?senator?saw?to?it?thatthe Mile's luggage?was?exempt?from custom's inspections and sent them across the border with an escort, after all he wanted them to have?all the honors and conveniences that were possible and send them safely on their way.

The President?of Mexico?asked Senator Guzman Willis?to?present Admiral Miles with an appropriate?gift, so he was given a beautiful?silver?tray with this inscription, "Tampico, para el Almirante Milton Edward Miles, Agosto?1958.''?From the?least?to the?highest, thank you?for a?job?well?done,?that was the message from Tampico, and?before?boarding the plane for?their return?to the?United States?themusicians?played?and?sang?“! es Golondrinas" (The Farewell Song).

Tampico's?Great?Airlift?Rescue

By?Michael?Scully

Reader's?Digest,?September?1956,?pp.?62-67A dramatic account of how Mexicans and?Americans fought shoulder to shoulder to save a city. From?the?ravages?<??{nature?gone?berserk

Georgie?Smith?Burden?was?worried.?Around?Tampico, Mexico,?last?September16,?lagoons?were swelled, and lowlands flooded because of?Hurricane Gladys, which?four days earlier?had?burst?its?huge?clouds?overhead.?Some?8,000?people?hadbeen?driven?to?higher?ground.?Now?radios?warned?that?Hurricane?Hilda,?a?howlingharridan?of?a?storm, was?following Gladys' wake. Tampico?sat?dead-center?in its path.

Inland?from?the?port?of?Tampico?to?the?mountains,?I?00?miles?away, lies the?low Huasteca country,?dotted?with?oil fields,?ranches,?and?villages?of?the?Indian?peoplefrom?whom?it?gets?its?name.?The?whole makes?a?funnel-like watershed?where?scoresof streams plunge?into six?rivers?which?in?turn feed?the?Rio?Panuco,?the?funnel?spout.

Mrs. Burden knew that, with the coast already submerged, this topography could turn a second deluge?into a devastating flood. She?had been born on the watershed,?a granddaughter of Confederates?who moved to Mexico after the Civil?War.?Growing upwith an equal love of two countries,?Mrs.

Burden?had?worked?with?the?Texas?Good?Neighbor Commission?to?improve?U.S.-Mexican relations.?Now?she?phoned?the?commission?chairman,?Neville?Penrose?of?FortWorth,?and?sketched?the?prospect.

·'There's?going?to?be?real?trouble?here,''?she?said.

Trouble was a modest word for what?happened. At?1 a.m. on September?19?Hilda roared in, its?terror?magnified?by?the?dark.?When?the?last?of?three?wind?gauges?broke?itshowed?144?miles?an?hour, and?the?violence?was?still?mounting.?For?five?hours?Tampicowas?a?lethal?maelstrom?where?sheets?of metal?roofing?whipped?through?the?streets?likeplaying?cards?and flying?poles?pierced?buildings.

Freighters in the?Panuco snapped their?moorings and crumpled one another?in a rain-lashed melee. But?that?was?only?a?beginning.?Ten?days?later?the?incrediblehappened:?Hilda's?twin,?Janet,

struck across the?Huasteca below Tampico and ravaged Mexico's entire midriff.?Its backwash reduced Tampico?to?an island?three?to?four?blocks?wide,?extending?from?thebusiness?center?to?the?airport,?where I?00,000 people huddled.?In lower areas thousands clung to high points and perched in trees dotting a?new-formed?sea?some 2,000?miles?inextent.

Never,?anywhere,?had?three hurricanes swept?one small?area?in?17 days, orsubjected?a?city?to?24?days?of?mounting?floods.

The scene was set for tragedy. Small rescue boats were helpless against the wreckage-laden current.?Airplanes could drop food to only?a few marooned groups.With?the?rising water gnawing at?houses and knolls, quick rescue was imperative, and helicopters, which Mexico lacked, were the one?hope?of?quick?rescue.

But?the?helicopters?came,?32?of?them?before?it?was?over.?With?them,?in?relays,?came?nearly? I00 U.S.?planes,?two?aircraft?carriers,?four?other?naval?units,?landing?craft?and?amphibiousvehicles--a?massive array of war-making machinery turned to lifesaving.?For nearly a month some 3,000 uniformed?young Americans swept in from sky and sea to fight beside thousands of Mexicans for Tampico and the Huasteca.?Mrs.?Burden's?telephonecall grew?into?an?international?disaster-relief?campaign?unmatched?in?scope?and?drama.

Thanks to that call, the?U.S. Air Force was already?alerted when?Hilda struck. Three helicopters and two supporting planes?from the San Marcos, Texas, base were soon winging toward the border.

That small group seemed adequate to meet what was still a limited emergency. Mexican military planes?had?flown in doctors, nurses and medicines and some?food had been stockpiled.?In a few days, it was?believed.?the?flood?would?subside.?But?then?came?Janet.

Now, with?Mexico facing major disaster,?the Good Neighbor?policy?was given its finest expression.?From?Florida?the?carrier?Saipan?plowed?across?the?Gulf?with?14helicopters,?doctors,?hospital corpsmen, tons of food and supplies. The?U.S. destroyer?Bassett?and cargo ship?Antares,?with medical teams,?rescue craft and vehicles, were dispatched?from their Cuban base. To take command,

Rear Adm. Milton E. Miles?flew?up from?the?Canal?Zone. Red Cross?disaster?teams?and Fourth Army men coordinated the assembling of relief supplies in Texas and their distribution at Tampico.

For?three?days?after?Janet?struck, those whose?only?hope?of rescue?was from?the?sky?wondered?if theyhad been?abandoned. The Air Force helicopters, lacking shelter, had had to be withdrawn to avoid destruction. Then?the?Saipan's?14?clumsy-looking, amazingly versatile "egg-beaters'' churned?into?the?sky.

For eight?days machines were?off?the?Saipan?at dawn, to fight their way through soggy winds that?held aconstant?threat?of a?fourth storm. While?one rescue?group concentrated on Tampico, another scouted the watershed. Like huge mechanical beetles they dropped among menacing trees onto high points to pick?up clusters of refugees. With feather-touch delicacy they snatched victims off oil tanks and shaky roofs with their hoisting cables.?In one two-hour stretch they delivered?800 people to their daytime base, the Tampico Country Club.

Twelve of the?machines were?of a small type, designed for 3?maxima?of five?men, but?one pilot?ended?aflight?with?18?passengers.?Next?day?he?was?topped?by?a?teammate?who?debarked?21. ··1 had a problem," the latter explained. "'Should I have taken half and left the rest to be washed away before I got back? Besides, the kids didn't weigh much."

"Until now no?one knew?what?these?things?could?do," said the chief?of?the?helicopter unit in reflective awe.

But the strain on the pilots and the relentless rise of the?flood soon spurred Admiral?Miles to call?for?morehelp.?On?October?4?the?carrier?Sihoney,?with?13?big?Sikorskys,?31?Marine?pilots?and?relief supplies, put out of Norfolk, Va., to take over the?job on the 9th.

When the final score was totaled it was found that Navy helicopters had snatched 9,262 lives from?theflood's?maw, 2,445 by?hoists. They?had?saved?other?thousands by landing Mexican medical?aid on 164 missions and?delivering?197 tons of food at points which only they could?reach. And behind?the figures were moments of high drama.

Most?of the?flood victims had never seen a?helicopter, and often?were?terrified?at the?prospect?of being hoisted up through 30?feet of air.?One?pilot?hovered?for?20?minutes?trying?to induce a?couple with a?baby to abandon a teetering roof. Then the Mexican interpreter accompanying the pilot?was struck by inspiration. Lowered on the cable, he grabbed the child and was pulled aloft. The?kidnaping was effective.?When the cabledropped?again, the trembling?mother?climbed into the sling?and was reeled in. The man followed, and three lives were added to the statistics.

Navy Lt. John Gregory muddled the records and won distinction when he left an imperiled ridge with 14 women?and?children?and?reached?the Country?Club with 15. Possibly?the first?human to be born in a helicopter had come into the world.

Air Force Lt. Oscar Yzmaga?spotted?a?crowded, oarless?boat?being?swept?to?destruction in?the GulfHovering at water level, he halted the craft's drift with the backwash of his propellers, maneuvered it toward land, and finally towed it ashore with his cable.

There were also?moments?the?pilots?would rather forget. One, while?his?craft was?heavily loaded, spotted five men waving for help?from a crumbling railroad?embankment. Hurrying to discharge?his?cargo,?he?returned?to?the scene-to?find neither?men?nor?embankment?still?there.

Only in the helicopter phase was the relief of Tampico entirely American.?In the greatest airlift this hemisphere has seen, Mexican planes kept supplies?flowing constantly from?Mexico City and ferried contributions from a dozen?other points. U.S. Marines operated shuttles from Corpus Christi, Texas,?and Monterrey,?Mexico. The Air Force?teamed 38 planes?in?an operation that?poured in?supplies from as far away?as Pennsylvania.?At Tampico, Mexican Army?units?and civilians emptied?landing planes?and?kept trucks?moving to relief?centers?on?a?round-the-clock?schedule. The airport. equipped for a peak traffic of 30 planes a day, at one point handled?150 in 24 hours.

Surface?rescue?was also?an?international?operation,?with four?36-foot landing?craft from the USS?Bassett,the tugs of Pemex (the?government-owned?oil?industry) and?a?half?dozen?diesel-powered fishing boats sharing the load.?Even these rugged?craft sometimes found it impossible to buck the wreckage-laden current.?One found itself wedged under what was normally a high railway trestle, and its men had their?most?exciting?hour fighting?off festoons?of?snakes?that were riding?out the?flood on?the crossties.?In the encl the?fleet evacuated some?8,000persons,?and its?food deliveries kept many more?alive.

After a 24-clay?climb, the flood reached its crest on October 7. Then, with the current?slowing and the perilous?debris swept to sea, perhaps the strangest flotilla ever manned by the U.S. Navy appeared on the?city'scanalized?streets. Capt. William Martin?of?the?Saipan?had spotted?a miscellany of rowboats wedged in wreckage, capsized, tied to housetops.?Mexican soldiers?collected 55 of them; Saipan carpenters made repairs and turned-out oars.?Small Navy boats were added, and the motley array, manned by 250 seamen, began picking out ofwindows and off roofs those too timorous to risk the helicopter hoist.?In one day 900 were delivered to safety.

As?the flood began?to?drop, the?menace?of?epidemic?disease?increased.?For?two weeks?the water supply had been paralyzed.?Mains, along with sewage lines, had been ripped out by?clawing currents.

With?60,000?refugees?sheltered in?tents, the?city?hall,?schools,?clubs and?even?parked?streetcars, police could not enforce sanitation. The Panuco River floated thousands of carcasses of cattle and other animals-and an occasional human body into the city, where many lodged and sank.

Naval units distilled 20,000 gallons?of water for the city each?clay, and Navy technicians operated aportable?still?at?the hospital. But?the?chief￡ weapon?against?contaminated?water was chloride tablets,?flown?in by the ton and air-dropped into villages where police enforced their use.

To?control?typhoid, diphtheria, dysentery,?and?tetanus, more?than?200 Mexican?physicians?and nurses, 20Naval?medical?officers?and?scores?of?hospital?corpsmen?were?formed into?teams?to man 23 stations in Tampico and to fly over the flooded region.?More than?I?00,000 persons were treated and inoculated.?Meanwhile, city cleanup workers attacked each street as the flood surrendered it-and by October?13, the?first day the sun had shone?since?September?I?0, the?threat?of?epidemics?had been?defeated.

Material?damage,?of?course, ran?into?scores?of?millions?of?dollars. But fewer?than?500?lives?were lost in theTampico area, where the situation?was?called by Carlos Patterne,?Red?Cross veteran of?a score of tropical disasters, the worst he had ever seen.?Without aerial relief [ and especially without helicopters,?there?would?have?been?a?historic?mass?tragedy.

By?the?flood's?encl,?the?helicopters?had?won?an?enduring?place?in?the?hearts?of?the?people?of?the?Huasteca. One worn peasant?woman?rowed 40 miles down the Panuco to thank Admiral Niles in person?for?the?machine?that?pluckedher?family?out?of?a?treetop. And,?with?her?native?talent?for?poetry,?she?gave?the grotesque?"'eggbeaters''?a?newappellation.?"Son?angeles medico,"?she?said. ("They're?mechanical?angels.'")

Everywhere?pilots?were?laden?with?gifts-from centuries-old?Huastec?images (with?an?earnest?note?in English: "Inthe?wish?of?give?you?something?who?tell?our?gratitude.?.'')-to?a?handful?of?tortillas.?(The?receiving?pilot?didn't?learn?untillater?that?these?were?a?grateful family's?entire?food?supply.)

On?October 16,?with?the?job?nearly?clone,?Tampico?gave?a?despedicla-a?traditional?Latin American?going-awayparty-to?the?pilots?as?they?were?about?to?take?off?from?the?Country?Club.?Across the?golf?course,?behind?a?front?rank?of?thetown's?prettiest?girls,?came?the?municipal?band,?civil?and?military officials?and?15,000 Tampicans. There?were?speechesin?two?languages,?and?heartfelt?handshakes,?abrazos?and kisses. The band, having played ''The Star-Spangled Banner,'' played the?Mexican?national?anthem.?And?then?it?rained flowers-gladiolas,?gardenias?and?carnations flown?in from the gardens of the?plateau.

At the encl Mayor Manuel Ravize presented gold?medals to the U.S. pilots from the?Saipan, Siboney?and Air Force.?On one side?of?each?medal was engraved?St. Christopher, protector?of travelers;?on?the?other,?''The?EternalGratitude?of?Tampico."?Later?Admiral?Miles?received?Mexico's?highest decoration, the Aztec Eagle. Mayor?Ravize?put?in?words?the?common?feeling:?''Something?wonderful?happened?here

Suddenly?there?were?no Mexicans,?no?Americans, no?border-just?human?beings?rediscovering?the?brotherhood of man.?These few clays have been worth a century?of diplomacy?between our?countries."