Hams To The Rescue

Sent to me by my friend Rick Finnstrom-KC7AZG

By the way folks, We have been calling these things Tidal Waves for
decades. Tsunami simply means HARBOR WAVE. Where do tidal waves do
the most damage? Wait for it.... HARBORS! Please stop talking
Japanese unless you are going to complete your sentences in said
language.

Thanks for letting me vent! And now for the story.
K7GDM


Hams- The Forgotten Heroes By Marti Talbott
On Good Friday, March 27, l964 approximately 12,000 square miles of
the Alaskan seafloor shifted causing one of the worst earthquakes in
US history. When the shock waves subsided and the massive tsunami
receded, loss of life and injuries were compounded by yet another
tragedy -- a total communications blackout.

Then at last, a lone Ham Radio Operator managed to send a message --
a cry for help that was repeated by other Hams and sent all over the
world.

History is rich with stories of Hams - 1996 a fierce lightning storm
in Oregon/California, 1998 Flooding in Texas and Hurricane Bonnie,
1998 Ice Storm in Canada, 1999 Hurricane Floyd/Earthquake in Taiwan -
and the list goes on.

So what happened to Ham (Amateur) Radio Operators and why don't we
hear about them anymore? Believe it or not, they still live among us
and they're still responding to cries for help, up to and including
9/11 and the 2002 fires in Colorado.

The world wrongly assumes that with the Internet and cell phones, we
no longer need Hams. But disasters cut electricity and cell phones
need working towers every three miles. Yet Internet search engines
list Amateur Radio sites under "hobbies," a classification totally
unwarranted and highly resented.

Hams are a lot more than high school kids fiddling with radios. They
are a network of highly trained people -- men and woman of all ages
who are willing to drop whatever they are doing to look for a lost
child or aid overworked emergency personnel. Like an old-fashioned
fire brigade, they pass the information bucket from one to another
warning of severe weather conditions, hazardous spills, railroad
disasters and much, much more.

Ham Radio Operators are indeed forgotten heroes, but they shouldn't
be. Every year they meet in groups all over the world to train for
the next major disaster. Yet sadly, their numbers are dwindling - in
evidence on hospital "help wanted" bulletin boards all over the
America. Sad indeed will be the day they aren't there when we need
them.

About The Author

Marti Talbott is the author of: "A Shattered City - Earthquake in
Seattle" - available at Amazon.com

Dedicated to Ham Radio Operators
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/09709286291

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/