As mission begins, sailors come ashore to Ike's devastation

GALVESTON, Texas

The landing craft approached the shore, looking for a place to wedge itself into the sand.

“Brace for the beach,” yelled Chief Warrant Officer Tim Baker.

The craft shuddered, then the boat’s front gate descended. Baker’s amphibious cargo hauler eased into the surf and onto the shore.

To the right stood a restaurant that had been stripped to its frame. To the left stood three rows of head-high concrete pillars now supporting nothing.

Hurricane Ike pushed 12 feet of water across this island, flooding or washing away much of what was in its path.

Now the island has summoned help from all over the country. And sailors on the Norfolk-based amphibious assault ship Nassau answered the call.

While the ship’s missions will vary in the coming week, the overall goal is simple.

“We’re here to support the relief effort,” said Capt. Jim Boorujy , the ship’s commanding officer.

Hurricane Ike announced its arrival in Galveston this past Friday morning, as it began heaving the Gulf up onto the island from the south. The surge continued throughout the day and into Saturday, swallowing piers and buildings as the water collected in the bay on the far side.

The water and wind were indiscriminate, taking revered landmarks such as the Balinese Room nightclub and more questionable landmarks like Hooters. Across the island, which is 33 miles long and 1.5 miles at its widest, all but 12 to 14 blocks was underwater at some point.

By Sunday, the water was gone and the aftermath had begun. Thankfully, many residents had heeded the call to evacuate, said Galveston’s airport director Hud Hopkins, so the main casualties were damaged properties. Power and water and sewer were knocked out, and debris covered everything in a ragged blanket.

But help was on the way. The Nassau left Norfolk Saturday as Ike was closing in, and steamed about 2,000 miles down the East Coast and around Florida before reaching the Gulf earlier this week, where it anchored seven miles offshore.

Aerial survey teams from the ship circled the island Wednesday and Thursday, assessing damage and forming their landing plans .

The ship is designed to transport large volumes of people and supplies, said Boorujy, making it ideal for this situation. What’s more, while the ship’s crew trains for everything, “we’re always excited by a real-world mission.”

Much of the ship’s work will involve supplying and manning disaster relief centers on shore and using heavy machinery to clear debris along the beach and in the port.

As Baker watched from shore early Thursday evening, the last of the Humvees eased off the landing craft, sloshed through the gray-green breakers and came onto the beach. After that, the plan was to establish a communications link to the Nassau and set up tents along the beach, housing crew members over the coming days.

High above, on the way back to the Nassau, Marine Gunnery Sgt. William Ward watched from the helicopter window as the island receded over the horizon.

“It’s hard to see this,” he said.

Ward grew up in Houston, and spent summers and holidays on Galveston. After Ike passed through, he called his family and discovered they were all right. But he still wasn’t prepared for what he saw from the air during his first flight.

“It’s totally different now,” he said, “You can tell it’s all jacked up.”

Yet knowing that he and his ship were here gave him hope.

“It makes me feel good as a fellow Texan that I’m helping people,” he said. “I’m very glad to be here.”

Matthew Jones, (757) 446-2949 or matthew.jones@pilotonline.com