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From the '00's
- Jessica Veenstra (2005) graduated from Dordt College in May 2009 with a Business Administration Major and minors in English and Music. On July 18, 2009, she was married to Christopher Vogel of Luverne, MN at Bethel Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Wheaton, IL. Jessica and Chris live in Quincy, MA. Chris is studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Jessica is the Assistant Externship Coordinator at Lincoln Technical Institute in Somerville, MA.
- Laura MacMillan (2005) graduated from Dordt College in May 2009 with a degree in Education. She is teaching Middle School Language Arts at Escuela Luz del Mundo, a Christian School in Albuquerque, NM. She was engaged to Neal Vellema over the Thanksgiving holiday. They will be married on June 19 in NW, Iowa.
From the '90's
Justin Munk - (1999) When I graduated from Timothy ten years ago in 1999, I had no idea of the path that God would lead me down. After high school graduation I attended Calvin College and the college of due page for the next four years. The years that I spent in college were somewhat frustrating to me because I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. After deciding to put college on hold I began working for my father in the construction industry. After about a year or so, I was still unsure of the path of my life. After talking with my mother she mentioned that I look into joining the US Coast Guard.
Before I knew it I was sitting in a Coast Guard recruiting office. It was at this meeting with the recruiter that I learned about the Helicopter Rescue Swimmer program, For the first time in my life I knew that this was something that I sincerely desired and was determined to become a member of this elite group.
I started boot camp in Cape May, New Jersey on September 9, 2003. After the completion of my basic training I was assigned to the United States Coast Guard National Honor Guard In Alexandria, Virginia. After two years of Honor Guard service, I was assigned to the airman training program and was sent to Air Station Atlantic City for 7 months. During this time I worked and trained side by side with the rescue swimmers at the air station where they prepared me physically, and more importantly, mentally for the four and a half month Rescue Swimmer training that was soon to come. Finally, almost three years after enlisting in the Coast Guard, I was sent to Elizabeth City, North Carolina for Helicopter Rescue Swimmer Training. My training began in July 2006 and it would be the most physically and mentally challenging experience of my life. I was more than ready. My future with the Coast Guard was on the line and failure was not an option.
Every day, Monday through friday, from 700 to 1600 for four and a half months I worked harder than I had ever worked in my life. My days were spent running and swimming mile after mile, doing push up and sit up after push up and sit up all the while blocking out the pains of injury and the mental abuse from my instructors. When those around me began to give up, myself and my few other determined class mates rallied together and pushed through the pain of every challenge. November 24, 2006 I officially achieved what thousands of individuals could not. I was a United States Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue Swimmer.
After graduation I was assigned to Air Station Clearwater in the state of Florida, Which is still my current station. Upon arrival at the air station I quickly worked worked to become a qualified crew member on the H-60 Jayhawk Helicopter and and a nationally registered emergency medical technician. Once I became qualified I was able to stand Rescue Swimmer duty at the station and also began deploying to various Caribbean locations to conduct counter drug and migrant operations. My last deployment down to the Caribbean from January 5, 2010 to January 19, 2010 was far from routine. Little did I know that my crew and I were about to provide aid in one of the worlds most devastating national disasters in recent history.
It was Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 04:53 PM in Haiti when the earth decided to shake. At the time of the quake my crew and I, two pilots, a flight mechanic, and me, the rescue swimmer, were on the island of Provodenciales apart of Turks and Caicos approximately 250 miles northeast of Port au Prince Haiti. We had just finished with a routine patrol of the local area and were transiting from the hanger back to our quarters. We had stopped for gas when one of my pilots received a phone call at 5:05 PM from our operations center. Operations informed us that there had been a massive earthquake in Haiti and we were to get the helicopter back in the air ASAP. Our first task was to assess the the windward passage between Haiti and Cuba and the passage between the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, and Haiti for any unusual tsunami activity. We immediatly stopped pumping gas, informed the attendant that we would be back to pay for the gas later and sped back to the hanger as fast as we could.
Once airborne, we flew to our assigned locations and established communications with a number of shipping vessels in the area to see if they had noticed any significant changes in the sea state. Through our contact with these vessels and our own assessments we were able to thankfully conclude that the quake did not generate any dangerous seas to the vessels in the area and the surrounding countries. We promptly returned to Provodenciales, reported our analysis, and retired to our quarters unaware of the challenges the next days would bring.
The next morning I was awoken with a series of firm thuds on the door to my room. I rolled over in my bed to see that it was 5:30 AM. I quickly jumped out of bed to find one of my pilots standing outside my door to inform me that we had a half hour to get airborne to medevac a critically injured individual from the US Embassy in Port Au Prince. Once airborne, the 90 minute flight to Haiti seemed like an eternity. Not much was said during the flight over. We were all trying to mentally prepare ourselves for the devastation we were soon to encounter.
Once we reached the coast of Haiti we began to fly over the interior mountains, something that we are otherwise unauthorized to do, but the circumstances required us to take the most direct flight plan possible. As we made our way closer to Port Au Prince the devastation became more evident and the magnitude of the destruction started to become a reality to us all. We saw billowing smoke for as far as the eye can see and pancaked structures across the entire landscape. Thousands of Haitians congregated in the open fields and littered the streets trying to find loved ones and escape the despair. The only other aircraft in the area were two Coast Guard C-130 fixed wing aircraft and 2 or 3 UN helicopters. After circling the city and assessing the damage we were finally able to locate the US embassy and to our surprise it was one of the only buildings that still stood in tact. Upon arrival we were directed to land in a cow pasture a quarter mile north east of the embassy were we were met with a situation that none of us had expected.
Upon landing, we were officially the first aircraft of all services, from any country to touch down in Haiti. Once we were on deck in the cow pasture the flight mechanic and I stepped out of the helo and encountered numerous embassy workers and security officers armed with M-16 assault rifles. Despite the destruction, the feeling on the ground was eerily calm and quiet. After briefly speaking with the embassy reps and witnessing all of the injured Americans they kept taxiing into the evac site it was clear that we would be taking more than one patient and more than one trip. We had our work cut out for us. Without any further discussion, the flight mech and I began to strip the helicopter cabin of any unnecessary gear to maximize space for our patients. Anything we didn't think we could use was left on the Haitian soil.
Once the cabin was clear I spoke with the Doctor in charge and we began the triage process to prioritize which patients would go first. The amount of people with critical injuries was staggering. The types of injuries that we were dealing with were broken pelvises, Fractured vertebrae, collapsed lungs, broken ribs, multiple open fractures, and deep lacerations. The lack of medical supplies was also very obvious. Many of the patients had broken arms and legs splinted with broken boards picked out of ruble and bandages devised from ripped clothing and bedding.
For the next two days my crew and I spent every moment shuttling the injured across the the windward pass to the Naval hospital in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I don't know the exact number of patients that we transported, but our efforts were endless as long as we had daylight. Every effort was made to save as many individuals as we possibly could.
Despite some of the news reports saying that there was not enough being done to help the people of Haiti, I can say first hand that those reports were false and every effort was being made despite the horrible circumstances.
Flying into Haiti with my crew and helping to preserve the lives of the individuals that we assisted is an experience that I will never forget as long as I live. I am forever grateful that God has led me down this path and has allowed me to pursue a career of service that enables me to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
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