When a crisis strikes, West Virginia responds.
Time and time again.
We’ve seen it this winter during all the snowstorms that have paralyzed different regions of the state.
We’ve seen it during all the major floods.
We’ve seen it in the aftermath of major accidents.
We’ve seen it beyond our borders, like helping with the relief effort following Hurricane Katrina, like battling western forest fires.
West Virginians are ready to help in a moment’s notice, often without being asked. Paid responders. Volunteer responders. Neighbors. Even those who may not be physically able to provide aid will show up with food, drink and supplies for those who are.
And now we’ve seen it again with what are being described as “heroic” efforts on the part of many who rescued 17 military personnel aboard a Virginia-based Navy helicopter that crashed during a training exercise Thursday on a rugged, snow-covered mountain on the Pocahontas-Randolph county line.
“I’d like to thank the West Virginia National Guard and the local responders for their heroic work,” Navy Capt. Steve Schreiber said. “Their efforts were extraordinary and took place under the most difficult of situations. The rescuers had to traverse more than 3 miles from the nearest road through heavily wooded and mountainous terrain to reach the crash site.
“A special thanks to the Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort for providing Snowcats that enabled first responders to reach the site.”
The West Virginia National Guard and first responders around the state have a way of turning the extraordinary into the ordinary. In other words, we’ve seen it enough times to still marvel but not be surprised by what they do, even as they take rescue efforts to another level.
And this one reached another level, literally and figuratively.
“... we’ve never had anything quite this big,” said Shannon Boehmer, chief of the Shavers Fork Volunteer Fire Department.
After rescuers went as far as they could with special equipment along a railroad grade, Boehmer said, “it was still about a 45-minute hike in 5 feet of snow, straight up the side of a mountain ... It was probably a 50-degree pitch or so. The guys described it as like climbing a ‘snow ladder.’”
Have you ever tried to walk in 5 feet of snow? Even on flat ground, just a few steps can wear you out.
Sometimes we may not realize what we have here in West Virginia. We have the finest National Guard unit in the country, first responders to match and a general willingness by everyone to help.
One thing is for sure: The U.S. Navy now knows.
