rovenstinez
If you come across any Mexican Marines, thank them for us.
Emergency Assistance - Joint Task Force Katrina
U.S. Navy sailors from the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) and Mexican Marines carry a log as they remove Hurricane Katrina debris at the D'iberville Elementary School in D'iberville, Miss., on Sept. 9, 2005. Once the debris has been cleared the school will be used to provide food and medicine for evacuees. Department of Defense units are mobilized as part of Joint Task Force Katrina to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief efforts in the Gulf Coast areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. DoD photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Sandberg, U.S. Navy. (Released)
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Related story in USA Today --- "Bush denies race affected Katrina response" (9/12/2005) --- an excerpt about that situation:
"Bush stopped at a distribution center run by Christ in Action. 'Good to see you' and 'Good luck,' Bush murmured to people he greeted along long tables where food and supplies such as water, diapers and toilet paper were being distributed. He also cheered on a group of Mexican marines and Navy Seabees just back from Iraq who were clearing debris at the 28th St. Elementary School." (Gulfport, MS)
Related story in the Orange County Register --- "Hurricane Katrina relief work turns into international effort" (9/10/2005) ---
by George Pawlaczyk
Knight Ridder NewspapersABOARD THE PAPALOAPAN – The Marines have landed in Biloxi, Miss. The Mexican Marines.
And Dutch Marines, too.
Marines from Mexico, the Netherlands and the United States are allies in an international Hurricane Katrina cleanup effort based on ships about 20 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Four Canadian ships are also on the way.
"Our president called George Bush, and three days later we came here," said Oscar Martinez Pretelin, an officer aboard the Papaloapan, a 440-foot-long, troop-landing ship. "We are honored to help the United States."
About 75 Mexican Marines landed Thursday on the beach just east of the Beau Rivage casino to begin cleaning up Biloxi, especially around schools and churches.
One of the Marines, Mario T. Rodriguez, said he left a small city in the far south of Mexico to volunteer for hurricane relief duty. He has a 3-month-old daughter with his wife at home.
"The U.S. is so rich, but even a rich country can need help," he said.
The Mexican Marines will be aided by Spanish-speaking crew members of the USS Bataan as they work in the devastated areas of Biloxi and Gulfport.
For the first time in the history of the Mexican military, women have been assigned a mission, said Lt. Leonardo Tun Humbert of the Papaloapan. Three female physicians and two nurses from the Mexican navy are aboard the ship waiting to be assigned to hurricane relief work.
"We are trained to help and we will help," said Sgt. Carmen Rodriguez Cruz, 26, a nurse from Veracruz.
A Dutch ship, the Van Amstel, a frigate that was pulled off a drug patrol near Aruba after Katrina struck Aug. 29, is also here.
Lt. Cmdr. Henk Suurveld, the ship's second in command, said his men will patrol to make sure pleasure craft don't interfere with military operations.
A contingent of about 70 Dutch Marines also landed on the beach Thursday in Biloxi to clean up neighborhoods.
"The devastation is terrible. It is horrible," Suurveld said. "For us, job satisfaction is helping out in a situation like this."
Washington Post story --- "Mexican Aid Plays Well on Both Sides of the Border" (9/15/2005) --- excerpt:
photo originally AP/Yahoo
it is not a W'Post photoTwenty-five years from now Mexicans might similarly remember events that occurred this week. In Gulfport, Miss., President Bush personally thanked Mexican troops for "working together'' with U.S. counterparts to help rebuild an elementary school devastated by Hurricane Katrina. In front of reporters and photographers Bush shook the hands of members of the Mexican navy, the word " MARINA '' visibly emblazoned across their chests.
White House photos ---
President George W. Bush is joined by Gulfport, Miss., Mayor Brent Warr, left; Twenty-Eighth Street Elementary School principal Phyllis A Bourn and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, right, Monday, Sept. 12, 2005, outside the Twenty-Eighth Street Elementary School in Gulfport, where U.S. and Mexico aid workers are helping to clean-up the school devastated by Hurricane Katrina. White House photo by Paul Morse
President George W. Bush greets aid workers from Mexico helping in the hurricane ravaged areas in Gulfport, Miss., Monday, Sept. 12, 2005. White House photo by Paul Morse
