Tsunami relief trip 2005

I was going through some of our stuff, and came upon a journal that the girls have been drawing in.  I started to turn the pages, and I found 1journal entry from when Matt was in the Air Force.  This journal entry was about when he went to help with the Tsunami that hit Asia the end of December of 2004.  Matt's squadron went to help in Bande Aceh, the capital and largest city in Indonesia.

This is his journal entry:

The 45 man team that we left with got split up into 2 teams.  Then split again only 7 went into Banda Aceh including myself.  About 30 minutes after landing in Bande Aceh I witnessed a helicopter crash. Myself and SSGT Hanken (Peewee) grabbed a gerny (stretcher) and ran out to the helicopter.  We both carried one of the injured to the rescue helicopter.  That same day I got heat stroke and was supposed to leave and go back to Thialand, but the C130 never arrived.  I ended up leaving the next day along with peewee, who was suffering from dehydration.  I am better now.  The doctors in Banda Aceh gave me 2 Iv's of fluid.  The first one I got 3 liters, the second one I got 1 liter.  They also did a 12 point E.K.G. on me to test my heart.  All is good though.  I am now working nights here in Thialand.  We were staying at the Hard Rock Hotel, but we got moved out due to overbooking.

This is an article about the crash:

US helicopter crashes in Banda Aceh

Rescuers carry a crewmember into another helicopter heading for hospital. A US Black Hawk helicopter carrying tsunami relief materials crashed in a paddy near an airfield in Banda Aceh, Indonesia Jan. 10, 2005. The five crew members were injured but no one dead. US troops and French rescuers help crew members out of the wreckage of the helicopter, Jan. 10, 2005. A French rescuer passes by the helicopter after the accident, Jan. 10, 2005.

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I'm so glad that it wasn't Matt that was on the helicopter.  I'm glad that no one was killed.  I'm glad that he was there to help in a time of need.  What a neat and scary experience for him.  It's too bad that he got heat stroke, and had to leave Bande Aceh so quickly.  Good though that he was still able to help out in Thailand.