In honor of Veterans Day on Friday, Hot Springs National Park Rotary Club hosted retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Tom Arwood as guest speaker at its weekly meeting at Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa on Wednesday.
Arwood was introduced as a man who "always rose to the occasion" during his career with the United States military, whether in relief operations in Somalia, his work during Operation Desert Storm or relief efforts after Hurricane Andrew in Florida in 1992, and who continues to serve his fellow citizens in retirement. He was recently inducted into the Arkansas Military Veterans Hall of Fame.
Arwood chose to tell Rotarians of his time leading the relief effort in Florida after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which he described as "the most horrific hurricane at that time that ever struck our nation."
"The reason I chose to talk about Hurricane Andrew, even though it's a long time ago -- it's 1992 -- is because it's something that I don't think anyone is thinking about," he said. "The thing about our brave young men and women in Afghanistan, or Kuwait, or wherever it may be, I don't think we realize how often and how much ... our people are called on to take care of humanitarian relief operations."
Hurricane Andrew struck central Florida on Aug. 24, 1992. At 60 mph, the tropical storm spanned 30 miles wide and covered approximately 950 miles -- nearly a Category 5 hurricane. It "eliminated just about everything in that 30 miles," Arwood said, adding that it left hundreds of thousands of people homeless and without food, water and electricity.
Arwood's previous experience with Desert Storm prompted the White House to call on him to lead the relief efforts after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew.
"The damage was so severe that it was totally beyond the capability of the state of Florida," Arwood said.
He said his boss located him on the golf course at Fort Belvoir, Va., on Aug. 29, 1992 -- five days after the storm hit -- and informed him a plane would be ready to take him to Florida that afternoon to take charge of the logistics of Hurricane Andrew recovery. "That's it. That was the best set of words I'd ever heard. We took off that afternoon," he added.
At the same time, 15,000 trucks carrying donations were also making their way to Florida. Arwood and his troops set up a relief center at the West Palm Beach Fairgrounds, which was about 50 miles north of Miami (the storm area was about 50 miles south of Miami). Law enforcement from Alabama, Georgia and North and South Carolina were called in to assist.
Arwood was in charge of ordering supplies, and, after surveying the area, ordered 10,000 portable radios with batteries, 37,000 cots, 100,000 blankets, 3,500 medium tents, 700 light sets, 33 quick setup buildings and 600,000 MREs.
He said 55 kitchens were in operation at the time and they fed 70,500 people in the first 24 hours.
Arwood recalled a story from his time in Florida, saying, "This little old lady was walking along and she had her hands full of canned goods. I approached her and I said, 'Are you doing OK? Do you need anything?' and she said, 'I guess I'm getting along. Do you know anybody who might be in charge?' I said, 'I might, what can I do for you?' and she said, 'where can I get a can opener?'"
He quickly added 10,000 can openers to his supply order.
A military pen set was presented to Arwood on behalf of the Rotarians at the end of his presentation.
The annual Veterans Celebration Parade will be held today at 6:30 p.m., beginning at the junction of Whittington, Park and Central avenues, and proceeding south on Central to end at Olive Street.
US Stations radio personality Dick Antoine and local entertainer Tom Wilkins will serve as parade announcers. Local veterans Fred Randall, Ralph King and Ross Rumore will serve as grand marshals. In case of rain, the parade will be held Nov. 15.
The annual Veterans Day ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the Garland County Veterans Memorial, with retired U.S. Air Force Col. Jodine Tooke as keynote speaker.
Local on 11/10/2016