Moment of silence. Tohaku, AKA Tomodachi

Aepas

Hello everyone!
Today, just a few hours ago was the 2 year anniversary for the devastating Tohaku earthquake and tsunami, named "Operation Tomodachi" for the US Military. Now not only would I like to remind each one of you to say a silent prayer (depending on your religion) or just show a bit of respect to those who died, those that lost family, those that lost their homes and their livelihood during this disaster.

Just as well I'd like to give a small shout out to all my friends from Achaea that contacted me and sent me lots of well wishes (even though I didn't get the messages until weeks after.)

Since it's a small time of remembrance for me and all my friends, I'll tell the little story of what happened over here.
It was a Friday, and I was really banking on an early day.  Around 1445 or so, the first earthquake hit, followed by the second and third. They were large enough that every car in the parking lot was doing a dance in the way washing machines do, slowly shuffling along the road, windows breaking and car alarms going off. Lampposts were shaking so much I thought they might fall over, and we were completely sure that all the buildings were going to crash. Luckily, nothing happened. Power went out, but no big deal. We all laughed it off and got ready to go home, which is until we heard the sirens and the tsunami warnings. I believe the largest part of the Tsunami was about 18 meters tall, and traveling at around 800km for a short amount of time (as fast as an aircraft). I was fortunate enough to be at a location (Misawa, Japan) that we were not affected by it.
After all the operational commitments were sorted out, I got a chance to go out and assist with some rescue and repair with the Red Cross, San Diego rescue team, and A few French rescue teams. I didn't get a chance to take a lot of pictures (no power to charge camera, plus it seems disrespectful at the time) but here is a few that I did have.

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/326074_2185121061060_1255549221_o.jpg


Aand

This was their home and job, and in an instant they lost both. The financial investment on a fishing boat as well as their home must have been devastating to the point I can't even imagine.

As the US ships pulled in, I got a chance to meet a few other achaeans, they know who they are. While I didn't work directly with them, they were there helping out in different locations as well.

I'm not here to say hey look at all the cool stuff we did, but I'll tell you to think about a few things. Next time you hear about a disaster on the television, remember it's a lot worse on the ground level. Remember that your Achaean family is all over the world, and some of us may be affected by it. So before you buy that credit package, try to donate 5 dollars or so to the red cross first, or whatever charity might be helping out. I got a chance to see first hand how much that money helps out. (But you should still buy credits too! (IRE made me say that))

A second small thing I'll say, from a life experience. Always know a few numbers and email addresses by heart. All communications were shut down for quite some time, and it was hard to get a hold of anyone, especially with internet and cell services down. For those that are important to you, keep their information near and dear.

So be respectful, be a good person, and remember so much happens in life and so much of it you'll never expect. Keep friends and family close, cause you'll never know how fast you might loose them. My thanks to all the Achaean support I got, and how many of you I know donated to the cause, and how many of you I know would have been right there with me, working just as hard. We're like a big ole family yaknow? So anyways, once a year I get sappy, so signing off for now.

-insert moment of silence and remembrance here-