thedrifter
06-27-06, 04:12 AM
Gulfport Marine Earns Ford Medal For Hurricane Bravery
June 26, 2006, 05:50 PM
Shannon Sweeney sat in a conference room across from her office, and politely tried to brush off the accolades she was receiving.
"I did my job with a team of Marines. I didn't do anything by myself," she emphasized.
Yet last week, Sweeney was in Washington by herself, picking up the Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
She remembered being in the National Archives, "in front of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, just sitting there. And I'm like why am I here," she laughed.
Why? One word. Katrina.
Sweeney read an excerpt off the certificate that came with her medal.
"In the wake of the storm," she read, "Staff Sgt. Sweeney and Emergency Response Team overcame tremendous environmental conditions."
Sweeney's award spotlighted her response to the devastation on August 29, 2005. During the height of the storm, the staff sergeant, four other Marines, and a Seabee jumped into two military vehicles and headed east -- passing "poles and lines and just all the debris," she remembered. "Even in the Amtrak we still had to go through obstacles just to get down to Biloxi."
In its first trip out, Sweeney's team carried about 200 trapped people to shelters. Most were trapped at the Buddhist Temple on Oak Street in east Biloxi. Sweeney won't ever forget the look on one woman's face as she pulled her away from this water logged complex.
"After we just rescued her out of the Buddhist Temple, she held my hand real tight and prayed for us," she said.
The prayer was comforting, for the victim and for the staff sergeant. It made her realize that her job that day, in the middle of a hurricane, in a community she had just moved to, was vital to its survival, "to let them know that we were there. To let them know that people do care. And we were out there. And we were coming to help them."
Sweeney's proud to be recognized for her efforts.
"To say the least it's an honor," she said. Then, without hesitating, the staff sergeant pointed out, "I was doing my job."
Which is why she called herself a reluctant recipient of the Gerald R. Ford award. She thought her certificate should have listed all six members of her rescue team.
by Brad Kessie
Ellie
June 26, 2006, 05:50 PM
Shannon Sweeney sat in a conference room across from her office, and politely tried to brush off the accolades she was receiving.
"I did my job with a team of Marines. I didn't do anything by myself," she emphasized.
Yet last week, Sweeney was in Washington by herself, picking up the Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
She remembered being in the National Archives, "in front of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, just sitting there. And I'm like why am I here," she laughed.
Why? One word. Katrina.
Sweeney read an excerpt off the certificate that came with her medal.
"In the wake of the storm," she read, "Staff Sgt. Sweeney and Emergency Response Team overcame tremendous environmental conditions."
Sweeney's award spotlighted her response to the devastation on August 29, 2005. During the height of the storm, the staff sergeant, four other Marines, and a Seabee jumped into two military vehicles and headed east -- passing "poles and lines and just all the debris," she remembered. "Even in the Amtrak we still had to go through obstacles just to get down to Biloxi."
In its first trip out, Sweeney's team carried about 200 trapped people to shelters. Most were trapped at the Buddhist Temple on Oak Street in east Biloxi. Sweeney won't ever forget the look on one woman's face as she pulled her away from this water logged complex.
"After we just rescued her out of the Buddhist Temple, she held my hand real tight and prayed for us," she said.
The prayer was comforting, for the victim and for the staff sergeant. It made her realize that her job that day, in the middle of a hurricane, in a community she had just moved to, was vital to its survival, "to let them know that we were there. To let them know that people do care. And we were out there. And we were coming to help them."
Sweeney's proud to be recognized for her efforts.
"To say the least it's an honor," she said. Then, without hesitating, the staff sergeant pointed out, "I was doing my job."
Which is why she called herself a reluctant recipient of the Gerald R. Ford award. She thought her certificate should have listed all six members of her rescue team.
by Brad Kessie
Ellie