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MUNDELEIN, Ill. Suburban heroes just back from the Gulf Coast share stories of their harrowing rescue mission. They single-handedly saved hundreds of lives.
A surprising new tale of hurricane heroism emerged Tuesday in the north suburbs. A helicopter rescue crew is just back from New Orleans after lifting 1,700 people to safety.
One pilot compared the volunteer mission to the airlift of Saigon.
Applause and hugs greeted the local volunteers who risked their lives rescuing thousands of victims in New Orleans. The mission was launched by Medline Industries, a local firm responding to cries for help from its customers at hospitals and nursing homes in New Orleans.
“They were bringing the critical patients on stretchers through the water and carrying them up eight flights of stairs to the top of the parking lot to evacuate,” said chopper pilot Dan Britton. “It was a lot like Saigon when you land and try to pick up five, 30 want to get on board.”
The crew ferried hundreds from flooded hospitals, but on the trips back also searched rooftops for others they could rescue.
“In between all of our rescues and all of our medical runs we probably did 60 law enforcement calls,” said chopper pilot Rick Olson.
“There was a little 3- or 4-year-old boy sitting down there that needed to be rescued,” said rescue volunteer Rick Concepcion. “I went to the extent of my safety harness and kind of hooked my toes to the skids and hung upside down where I could get maximum reach… There was a gentleman on another roof aiming a rifle at us. It made me feel good to grab this child off that roof and toss him into the helicopter and get him out of there safely.”
“We call this a special need. When we make phone calls, and find out they need air personnel who can go in and help evacuate,” said Bill Abington with Medline Industries.
The helicopter was loaned by its owner, a Chicago developer. The crew was in the air within two hours of the call. They were among the first 10 choppers to arrive.
When they left on Saturday, 300 more had arrived.
Congressman Mark Kirk is trying to get homeland security to pick up the tab for more than $100,000 in fuel that was used.
Bitton was the commander of the mission. He flew helicopters in Vietnam, and was shot down several times. He was candid, assessing the rescue in New Orleans and accusing the government of failing to act quickly.
“While we were flying all night, the next morning there was military helicopters coming in but they were parked with the crews telling me they didn't have mission ops. That was a sad thing. As we were flying non-stop, I did find one very brave Blackhawk crew that said literally, ‘screw it, I'll follow you in and let’s go.’ I was very disappointed after 34 years of being in either law enforcement or military seeing a total breakdown of command and control on the state and federal level,” Britton said.
Bitton is the deputy chief of police in Winthrop Harbor. Te other volunteers include a real estate salesman from Rockford, a motorcycle mechanic from Waukegan and another police officer from Winthrop Harbor. |
