Saturday, September 23, 2000
It's deja vu for Guardsman/helper
Veteran of cleanups once lost own home
By Walt Schaefer
The Cincinnati Enquirer
XENIA, Ohio — Lt. Patrick Griffis, commander of a National Guard unit of 45 military police officers helping in this Greene County community Friday, knows: “It gets better.”
On April 9, 1999, Lt. Griffis, 27, was huddled with his brother, Jason, 29, and friend, Tom Ross, 27, in the bathroom of the Symmes Township condominium the three shared while a tornado ravaged the building around them.
Lt. Patrick Griffis
|
They lived in Village Brooke, a condo and apartment complex that was destroyed by the storm that swept through northeastern Hamilton County early that morning. “That time, I was the victim,” said the lieutenant, who now lives in Loveland.
As Lt. Griffis viewed the swath of damage Friday afternoon, he said many of the people who have lost homes and belongings “don't think there are any answers when they see this destruction. But, there are answers.
“These are things that can be replaced. Even with lost mementos, you can cherish the memories. You get over it and you move on. ... I've been there and (while) it might seem tragic today ... it gets easier.
“I'm seeing people and I'm telling them: "You're picking up belongings today. You're cleaning up your yard and raking your grass and salvaging what you can. And, that is the first step on the road to recovery. You do recover.'”
The lieutenant spent time in the active military before his National Guard duty and was involved in assistance and recovery efforts after Hurricane Fran, which struck North Carolina in 1996, and after Hurricane Andrew whipped across Florida in 1992. He was in Korea in 1994 and assisted when a typhoon struck that country. “I have a history of humanitarian service, so I have seen these things before,” he said.
Lt. Griffis, a Moeller High School graduate and an accountant for the Kroger Co., said he remembers the 1999 tornado and the Red Cross, the outpouring of support from other communities and so many everyday folks just coming to help out in Hamilton County. “I see the same things happening here.”
The mission of the Army National Guard's 324th military police company that Lt. Griffis commands is to “open and close roads, check identifications (of people seeking entrance to the damaged areas), offering community support and being a big brother to those who have no homes, or only damaged homes, left.”
Complete coverage of the Xenia tornado:
Gallery of photographs from the scene
The path of the twister: Infographic
Tornado recovery operations under way
'It seemed like God was in control'
It's deja vu for Guardsman/helper
The Enquirer's special 25th anniversary coverage of the Tornado of 1974
Former councilman admits to voter fraud
RAMSEY: Shootings
Abortion restriction blocked
Schools chief gets positive review
Ceremony welcomes 90 new American citizens
DNA leads to suspect in rape from 1993
HOWARD: West End touchstone 150 years
MCNUTT: Yesteryear Book takes look back at Butler
Prison worker pleads guilty to illicit affair
School plans 10th birthday party
Trial to proceed in fatal shooting
Concert review
Dance review
Consignment buying comes of age
:Discovery Channel star debuts decorating book
:Kitchens and baths sparkle at show
Bond Hill man charged in rapes, kidnappings
Campbell aims to conserve
Clintons' overnight guests
Court of Appeals rejects Kentucky's Megan's Law
Gardens Center more than shelter
Insurance method deemed 'unfriendly'
Man gets 30 years for shaking baby
Opinion sought on sale of guns
Ted Celeste falling further behind
Get to it
Kentucky News Briefs
Pig Parade: Hog Wash
Tristate A.M. Report
