Wings4Humanity responds to Kentucky tornadoes

Submitted by WINGS FOR HUMANITY

SMITHFIELD — When the news of the recent tornadoes in Kentucky reached Wings4Humanity, the group responded. Tornadoes had touched down in Kentucky with more than 240 miles of reported damage and countless lives affected. Since 1995, Wings4Humanity has responded to disasters around the world providing air support, transportation, medical evacuations.

Sunday morning, Doug Pagliolo and Steven Leger received the call to respond. Grabbing their go-bags, they met at the Johnston Regional Airport, where the organization is based. After a three-hour flight and battling a 40-knot headwind, they landed at Nashville International Airport in Tennessee. They stopped to refuel and a crane operator with Gideon Rescue Company joined them. Gideon provides search and rescue teams, rescue dogs, and equipment for disaster relief.

Forty-five minutes into their flight to Kentucky, they came across the tornado’s path. Circling the most devastated areas, they used Google Maps to pin the locations that were most affected. Landing at Mayfield Graves County Airport and seeing the destruction up close filled Leger with a sense of urgency. After landing, the Wings4Humanity group met with the rest of the teams. The thought of someone trapped kept Doug, the Gideon crane operator, up all night. He wasn’t alone.

Early the next morning, plans were made. W4H coordinated with GRC’s president, Brock Mayer, and Heritage Academy’s response team on a plan of action based on the information gathered from the flight the day before. Leger was placed in charge of a box truck to deliver essential supplies from the distribution centers to the communities in need while Doug picked up more rescuers from Nashville, and flew them to Mayfield, Ky. Praying to God that He would direct their actions, they split up and got to work.

Leger headed towards the airport where some of the supplies were being stored in one of the large hangars. Upon arrival, he discovered that the fairgrounds and airport, the two major distribution centers for food, water, and other essentials, were full to the brim. Not enough people from the communities were getting to the distribution centers to pick up the supplies they needed. Leger stopped by the fairgrounds to meet with Mayer and the academy students. They were handing out small pamphlets to people leaving the fairground and praying with them. These pamphlets talked about hope and how to deal with devastating circumstances in our lives.

“Many individuals broke down crying and were so grateful for our prayers and encouragement. This is when I realized that filling their physical needs was not enough, and that if I wanted to make an impact in the lives of these people, I had to be there for them, physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally,” Leger said.

Leger received a call from Doug. He had landed at the airport with Doane Tarin from Texas to respond to this disaster. When Leger arrived at the airport, they climbed into the box truck. Leger gave an update on what was happening and Doug replied, “Well, if the distribution centers aren’t getting enough supplies out, we will do it ourselves!”

With that, they went to the supply hangar and loaded the box truck with food, clothes and other essential supplies. They drove towards a community they identified from the air the previous day. “We had no idea if we would find a place to drop our supplies, but with a little faith and a lot of determination we set off,” Leger said. “It was getting dark and our hopes of finding a community in need of our supplies was setting with the sun. Finally, we arrived somewhere called the Moors in Kentucky. Police were blocking some of the roads.

We stopped to ask for directions, but they told us there was nothing ahead and that we should turn around and drop off our supplies at the town’s elementary school. However, we decided to drive ahead to a resort and restaurant.”

This restaurant was feeding all the community members for free. Anyone who needed a hot cooked meal could come and eat. It was here the group connected with some of the resort staff, and seeing the box truck full of supplies, they were elated.

They unloaded winter clothes, food, blankets, baby food, diapers and other items. “The communities in the area were coming to the restaurant to eat and now they could also come to have much needed supplies. When we were done handing out supplies, resort personnel took pictures with us, and on our Instagram (Wings4Humanity) they commented, thanking us for our service. We found a community in need, and the next day, we would be back to continue serving their needs,” Leger said.

The next day, the group drove to the Airport to load up the box truck and headed to Gilbertsville, Ky. “When we got to the peninsula along the lake, the destruction was everywhere. As far as the eye could see the tornado had ripped apart everything. There was sea of twoby-fours, nails and broken furniture, and kids’ toys and houses were laid to waste,” Leger said. “Every step I took was slow, for every step was riddled with nails and other hazards. The rescue dogs searched the debris for signs of survivors. Signs commemorating the lives that the tornado took were placed where the houses once stood. Names were spray painted on sheets of plywood along with ‘Rest In Peace.’”

Doug, a former Marine who deployed overseas on different occasions, said this damage and destruction was worse than any war zone he had ever witnessed. As they pulled up to where their team was working, the group heard cries of excitement as a small red camera was found.

“Pictures and videos of the last precious moments of a family member who had passed away from the tornado were on the camera. The lady gripped the device tightly to her chest, crying in disbelief that a group like us would take the time to search through the rubble, on a seemingly impossible task of finding a small red camera in an ocean of debris,” Leger said.

Some of the items found were picture albums, a torn Bible, toys and memorabilia scattered across hundreds of feet. Doug found a box of toys and some Christmas presents still intact. He was able to connect with the owner of these presents and send them to the resort with the names of the two girls they belonged to. They got to have their Christmas.

“As I stood watching the chaos around me, an older couple stopped besides us in their car, and asked if the supplies in the box truck were for the community. We immediately started giving them whatever they needed,” Leger recalled. “The gentleman broke down crying, and then his wife. Doug and I hugged them, praying with them I felt my own eyes water. Getting back in the truck, Doug hanging on the back as I drove, I cried. How could I not? So much pain in one place, my heart reached out.”

They then followed a woman, Melanie, from the community to a little community club house where they could unload the rest of the supplies. All the windows had been blown out and leaves and glass littered the floor. They swept the building and moved all the supplies inside.

“At this time, Brock showed up and started talking to Melanie. He asked her if she would like a shower. Melanie began to weep. So much was happening, and she hadn’t even realized that all she wanted was to take a shower. Brock coordinated an RV to come up and upon its arrival, she was able to shower,” Leger said.

The volunteers began moving house to house, pulling debris out to the road. Everywhere they went, they prayed and sometimes even sang songs in a group. “As we moved on to the next home, I would look behind me and see a smile from those we had just helped. I remember finding an

American flag on the ground and running to lift it up, but I was beaten to it by two young girls from Heritage Academy, I watched as they struggled to fold it, but were determined to get it right. Doug came by and taught them how. I was able to take the flag to the owner of the house, and he took it with tears in his eyes,” Leger said.

Finally, when the group had reached the end of the road, there was a house with smoke coming from the chimney. Mayer and a few others from the group had gone down to see if everyone inside was all right. They found an Army veteran drinking and wanting to take his life. He was devastated by all he had lost and the destruction around him.

“As a team, we cleared his driveway so he could get to his truck. Doug was able to sit and talk with him for a long while as we worked. Doug, the team, and Michael, another crane operator, were able to talk him down from suicidal thoughts, helping him focus on the good. We all gathered around him and surrounded him, singing songs. Then we prayed with him. Encouraging him, we thanked him for his service,” Leger said.

The next day he messaged Doug saying, “Thank you all for saving my life.”

The group worked day and night, bringing aid. They reached out to everyone they came across, filling their needs. “On the flight home both Doug and I meditated on the experience, exhausted from work but proud of the good we had done. It’s not over, though, the need is still not filled. We intend to return soon to follow up and help those we reached out to,” Leger said.

“This is a small part of what we did, and words cannot describe what we witnessed, but I know that I’ll never forget it. I once heard that we are not defined by what we say, but by what we do. Our actions speak louder than words. So, as I look at the faces of the people we helped, their faces etched in my mind forever, I am filled with a longing to do more,” Leger said. “Every disaster, every car stuck on the side of the road, the person at the grocery store who can’t pay for their food, the souls of those who cry out from the dark pits of depression and PTSD, we are here for you at Wings4Humanity.”