Lake Wylie man opens lines of communication
Ham radio operator puts skills to work after disaster
By John Marks Lake Wylie Pilot
(Published September 20‚ 2005)
LAKE WYLIE -- David Beatson, volunteer firefighter, emergency responder and Lake Wylie resident, has a hobby that just may have saved countless lives this month.
Beatson, a certified ham radio operator, recently returned from Ocean Springs, Miss., where he volunteered as network coordinator for six Red Cross shelters in hurricane-ravaged coastal Mississippi. Without telephone lines or any other forms of communication for two weeks, the Red Cross looked to volunteers like Beatson to contact shelters, coordinate relief efforts between areas and update the condition of residents needing medical assistance.
The only radio operator at the central station, Beatson used his own equipment during his two week stay to establish contact with other Red Cross stations. The hours, he said, were long."We woke up at 7 a.m. and on good nights we'd finish at 9 p.m.," said Beatson. "A couple of nights we didn't finish until midnight."
An old senior citizens center in Ocean Springs, only a half mile from the coast, was transformed following Hurricane Katrina into a Red Cross relief station. No showers or means of heating food were available, Beatson said, and not enough supplies were available to volunteers with the homeless population in need. Fending for himself for food, eating military meals when available, Beatson only showered three times in two weeks, he said.
Two memorable moments for Beatson include finding a medical naval ship for a family with children suffering from autism and helping a man locate his brother's body at a local morgue. As the only means of communication beyond driving down battered roads, Beatson was able to cut through red tape that victims could not. At times, like with the man searching for his brother's body, Beatson's work was almost too difficult. "He was so happy that he could go and get his brother's body," Beatson said. "I felt terrible telling this guy his brother was dead, even though he already knew that. I didn't enjoy doing that."
On occasion, though, there was a bit of relief even for responders. After seeing sign after sign on destroyed homes with names and insurance information, just beside many people living in tents in their own driveways, Beatson remembers one sign.
"No power, wife upset," it read.
More than 700 ham radio operators were stationed in areas affected by Katrina by the Red Cross, though many have now been relieved as satellite telephone communication becomes available. As a member of the American Radio Relay League and amateur operator since 1992, Beatson was contacted and decided to go despite the fact that he had to pay for his own travel and expenses. Cut off from friends and family after his cell phone was destroyed the first day, his only contact was with other volunteers from throughout the nation, including California, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey and North Carolina.
The Red Cross coordinator in the area, Ginger Flynn, stated the importance of Beatson's work in a Red Cross video taken on scene. "We rely a great deal on the Ham radio operators," said Flynn on what she called the "prime mode" of communication. "This operation has shown us that we really can't survive without the Ham radio operators."
The experience Beatson brings back with him is a mix of sadness, awe and perspective. When he hears people back home criticizing groups involved in the relief effort, he pauses. "We were living in the same conditions," Beatson said. "The people there were doing the best job they could. It comes down to the scope of the situation. The police, the government, the Red Cross, FEMA, we were all just overwhelmed."
Though he never expected his hobby to be used on such a grand stage, Beatson is thankful for the opportunity to serve.
"I would do it again," Beatson said. "I learned a lot about myself and I would do it again. It was a once in a lifetime experience."
He hopes, though, that the choice is not his to make.
"I've never seen anything like it before and I hope I never see anything like it again," Beatson said.
