Photo By Daniel Nelson | Senior Airman Brandon Tucker, a crew communication specialist with the 185th Air...... read more read more
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MOORE, Okla. - The Midwest region of the U.S. is certainly no stranger to inclement weather having heavy snow and ice in the winter months and severe thunderstorms and deadly tornadoes during the spring and summer months. However, the recent string of storms that have passed through the region have left the towns of Newcastle, Moore, Oklahoma City and Shawnee in disarray, displacing hundreds of families, and resulting in 26 confirmed deaths.
Many of the residents affected by the record EF-5 tornado that tore through the central Oklahoma landscape, the week began with an anticipation of thunderstorms and heavy rain; that all changed early Monday as a deadly tornado developed southwest of Oklahoma City. The tornado grew as it moved through southeast Oklahoma City and across Moore. In the wake of the destruction, first responders from across the country began to pour into Moore and Oklahoma City to include support from the Oklahoma National Guard.
For one Oklahoma National Guardsmen, the tornado came only a month after returning from a six-month deployment to the Middle East.
Senior Airman Brandon Tucker, a crew communication specialist with the 185th Air Refueling Squadron, Oklahoma Air National Guard, was at home doing work in his garage Monday morning getting his personal items moved back into his house after deciding to take his house off the real estate market.
“I was here right before the tornado came through,” stated Tucker. “I noticed that the wind had picked up quite a bit and all of a sudden just stopped, which I thought that was kind of odd. I walked inside in time to see Gary England announce that a tornado was heading toward the Newcastle Casino. I hightailed it out of there.”
Following a similar path as another deadly tornado that tore through south Oklahoma City May 3, 1999, the citizens of Oklahoma City and Moore sought cover wherever they could and braced for their lives. As quickly as the tornado developed, the tornado roped out after leaving a trail of destruction stretching 17 miles from Newcastle to southeast Oklahoma City.
Search and rescue efforts immediately began as first responders, Oklahoma National Guardsmen and citizens of surrounding communities converged on the area in hopes of finding survivors. As the nation anxiously watched, news reports shifted from severe weather coverage to rescues and how others could contribute through much needed donations.
With entire neighborhoods being wiped out in the tornadoes wrath, hundreds of Oklahomans were finding themselves homeless and with only the clothes on their backs. Many of the residents started sifting through piles of debris and rubble in hopes of finding any personal items not swept away with by the tornadoes more than 200 mph winds. Some of the neighborhoods were unreachable other than by foot or were too dangerous to allow residents back into as first responders were faced with fires, natural gas leaks and unstable structures.
“It was a full 24 hours before I was able to get back home with the streets so littered with debris; you just couldn’t get through any other way than by foot,” said Tucker. “When I finally got back, I could hardly recognize my house. I was overwhelmed by the amount of damage.”
Some of Tuckers fellow National Guardsmen went with him as he rummaged through a pile of debris that now stands where his house once was. With the support of his military family that includes his father, Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Tucker, public affairs sergeant for 137th Air Refueling Wing, Brandon Tucker has begun the long process of cleaning and rebuilding.
“I was able to find a couple of pictures that could not be replaced with just money, and my pet has also safely made it through all of this with me” said Brandon Tucker.
Oklahoma City has seen the affects of deadly tornadoes time and again in the past, and the resiliency of its citizens will help those who were most directly affected. Like Brandon, the many people affected have the support of the Nation, the Oklahoma National Guard and the communities in which they live as they cope with loss and rebuild the lives they once lived.
| Date Taken: | 05.22.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 05.22.2013 23:40 |
| Story ID: | 107419 |
| Location: | MOORE, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 153 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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