On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Japan, along with a tsunami that devastated the Tōhoku region and resulted in almost 20,000 lives lost. In the immediate aftermath, the multilateral relief effort known as “Operation Tomodachi” saw 24,000 military personnel deploy to assist in the recovery and relief of the affected area. Ten years later, we remember those who lost their lives in the tragic event and offer our heartfelt thoughts to all those who still are still affected by it today.
Transcript
In March 2011, I was actually a Stars and Stripes newspaper reporter, and I was stationed at Misawa Air Base in northern Japan during the Great East Japan earthquake, otherwise known as 3 11. I was the HHC user, J commander. I was actually sitting in my office at Stars and Stripes when the earthquake struck. I was in a corner office relatively close to the exit. Uh, and I realized very quickly this was not your normal earthquake that I was used to work in my office There it was midafternoon and, uh, major quake. And my first instinct was just to make sure that my people are okay. I checked on my staff there and then went down the hallway to get people out of the building. And I thought we needed to just get accountability and get people out of any danger. The corner of my building was very close to the arts and Crafts center and right across the street from the swimming pool. And I distinctly remember bunch of kids that had come outside from the Arts and Crafts center, and they were crying in the earthquake kept going and I could hear this strange rattling from the light poles. The car shocks were squeaking as they shook. Uh and believe it or not, the front door of the gym of the Sorry, the swimming pool burst open in a huge wave of water came flowing out into the street. Thing that struck me is that the people who are coming out of one or two, especially the Japanese employees, um they look really shook like this was a major earthquake. So everybody is trying to jump on their phones to call loved ones, that sort of thing. And people weren’t getting through because just the networks will jam. The phone system was jammed. So I just remember seeing a lot of very concerned Japanese people, uh, you know, our workers that are in one of two that worked for Garrison and other offices over there. So, uh, this is a day I’ll never forget, that’s for sure. Yeah, Yeah. Mhm. Oh, Oh, I actually didn’t make it up here until, maybe three weeks later. I came up in my capacity as company commander to, uh, one of my soldiers and also uh, check on the equipment that was up here that I signed for his company. But it was just Oh, this scene even 34 weeks later was just, uh you know, like a war zone. Remember, after that sort of site survey and just sort of circulation of the battlefield, if you will. Just being exhausted, mentally fatigued from seeing just houses that have been knocked off their foundation in Cuba. Okay, so earlier the nineties, Uh, not me. The authority to, uh you know there. Mm hmm. Mm mm. One of the key missions coming to to support Operation Tomodachi was covering the phase three evacuation process, Uh, for Misawa Air Base. The devastation to me that I saw. To be honest, I only seen in a movie, you know, whenever you seen those type movies where the hurricanes come in or you have tornadoes that come in and totally destroy, you know, vegetation, land, structures and so on. To see it in person, it was I don’t think words can explain it. Probably the one of the most striking things was when we arrived in Ofunato with the search and rescue teams. That city had been hit 4000 homes had been swept away by the tsunamis. Uh, and I remember just trying to wrap my head around the absolute devastation. Uh, we were standing there and you could see where the homes had been swept away right up to an exact line. What? I’ll call a demarcation line of absolute destruction in the normal life. And I was trying to wrap my head around being the last house in the role of destruction or the first house and the road that was safe. And it was it was mind boggling. Uh, the power of Mother Nature. Uh, and to see it first-hand like that, it was probably the most powerful thing I saw. Stop Nine. The petition. Yeah, so in the end, causal glow. So there the cause of Google story that no one on this planet how she got so much on them. Mm. So whatever, you shouldn’t have one of the whole lot animal on either. I’m not sure I’m not there. So this name No, Um where our business mhm how Operation Tomodachi, uh, been able to support that mission changed me as a person. What? I could I can honestly say I’m no longer self-centered. If that make any sense because you know, when you’re able to help someone and a life changing experience, it’s sort of kind of re, uh, re shift the way you think about things. So the way you approach things and it’s it’s no longer, you know, you’re thinking about what I need to do to to make sure that I’m situated and I’m straight moving forward. It’s more that that mind setting as as as of okay, what is it that you know? I need to prepare myself for where? If I do need to step outside of mine, my zone that I’m in to help someone else gets situated. Then what? What is it that I need to do to prepare myself to make sure I have the knowledge to to support what I’m trying to do and that that sort of kinda puts you in that mindset? So being able to come and support Operation Tomodachi, it’s sort of kind of changed me, you know, as a person to to look, you know, beyond not not just me. It’s kind of about me. No, I don’t think a memory of something as significant as March 11th, 2011 will ever fade, at least in my mind. I got to be a part of history when I think back about it because I was a reporter covering this news story. But really, what I was doing is I was taking photos, and I was telling stories of these amazing people, uh, incredibly resilient Japanese people of the military U S military machine that was able to put all of its capabilities in place to help these people. These people in need It was amazing. Even with the who’s your party? Well, you know, the total to Rita. Oh, I don’t call them all he say. So you know, you don’t know too much. You don’t know. Mm. But, uh, your mother mother who called, you know, then go to the Taliban? Not You know what? The mosquito. Mm. Yeah. Mm mm.