Save the Superdome!
A Memorial to the 73 Soldiers Who Died on Duty while the Commander-in-Chief Was on Vacation
October 27, 2005
Save the Superdome!
By Gar Smith
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| The New Orleans Superdome proved to be nearly hurricane-proof. It should be reinforced, not demolished. Credit: www.ctv.ca |
On September 25, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Gwen Knapp floated the idea that the NFL should "tweak some rules and build a stadium to replace the Superdome in New Orleans." The focus of the Knapp's argument was how to save the New Orleans Saints. Perhaps the more important focus for the immediate future should be how to save New Orleans' residents from the next inevitable onslaught of extreme weather.
Instead of razing the Superdome and paying politically connected developers millions to create a brand-new stadium (would anyone dare envisage an open-air design?), the state of Louisiana, the Federal Government and the NFL should restore, reinforce and retrofit the existing Superdome.
In a time of unprecedented emergency, the Dome proved itself to be the best shelter in the perfect location at precisely the right time. The Superdome's low-profile, combined with its convex cap and concave walls, turned out to be the aerodynamically ideal defense against Hurricane Katrina's battering winds. And, because of its central location, the sports stadium provided accessible sanctuary for thousands of desperate urban residents who lacked the means to flee the city.
The squalid hell experienced by the thousands of displaced residents who sought last-minute shelter inside the stadium was largely the result of failed emergency planning. An appalling human calamity was assured the moment that New Orleans officials instructed the throngs rushing to the Superdome that they should bring their own food and water. Once they were inside, the authorities warned, the dispossessed would be "on your own."
Except for some sections of roof sheared away by the maelstrom, the Superdome held its own as an Arc of Last Resort. It was human failure, not design failure, that left the refugees without access to adequate food, clean water, medical care and security. Many older Americans remember the thousands of Civil Defense shelters that populated US cities during the Cold War years. They were all stocked with plentiful emergency supplies -- water, canned goods, crackers and biscuits. What became of those emergency supplies? What happened to the concept of civil preparedness?
The citizens trapped inside the Superdome were left to fend for themselves as sanitation and security failed. But most of the problems that played out inside the Superdome during that hellish week can be addressed and solved. One obvious example: the facility's over-taxed bathrooms backed up and raw sewage threatened peoples' health. Instead of spending hundreds of millions to build a new stadium on the site, wouldn't it be more sensible to spend several tens of thousands of dollars to expand and improve the facility's plumbing so that it can handle the needs of a displaced population during the next weather emergency?
Retrofitting the Superdome to serve as an emergency disaster shelter would also require expansion of food-storage areas and kitchen facilities to provide for the preparation of thousands of meals for a period of several days. Medical stations should also be installed and stockpiled with medicine and emergency gear.
Each horror story engendered by the inadvertent incarceration of the storm's victims should suggest a solution that can be incorporated into retrofitting a refurbished Superdome. The Superdome already has become an enduring architectural icon and remains a landmark sports stadium. With informed vision and good planning, the Superdome also can re-emerge as a state-of-the-art civic shelter, designed to protect and provide -- not just to house.
As Knapp pointed out, the NFL already has a fund that can be used to finance stadium construction projects. If the NFL can channel $150 million to help finance a stadium deal in New England, surely a way can be found to redirect funds toward the restoration and remodeling of the Superdome/ New Orleans Emergency Shelter. And FEMA
The Superdome should not be demolished. Like New Orleans, it is a survivor -- an inanimate, unconquerable hero that withstood the hurricane's wrath. It deserves to stand as a monument to the resilience of the population.
With the world's weather raging increasingly out-of-whack, the case can be made that the people of New Orleans need a stadium-sized mega-shelter more than they need a football stadium. You don't need a home team, if you don't have a home.
A Memorial to the 73 Soldiers Who Died on Duty while the Commander-in-Chief Was on Vacation
www.envirosagainstwar.org/know/read.php?itemid=3141
Gar Smith / Environmentalists Against War
According to an EAW survey, between August 4 and 31, the period that George W. Bush was on his 49th vacation trip to his Crawford, Texas ranch, a total of 73 US men and women were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The final number of Americans who died while Mr. Bush was on vacation will most likely reach thousands when the government finally counts the names of people abandoned to face the wrath of Hurricane Katrina and the indifference of the federal government.
58 Soldiers Died in Iraq from August 4-31.
They were:
- Specialist Jason E. Ames. Mosul - Ninawa. Non-hostile - unspecified cause
- Captain Lowell T. Miller II. Iskandariyah (near) - Babil. Hostile - hostile fire
- Sergeant Monta S. Ruth Samarra. (SE of) - Salah ad-Din. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Major Gregory J. Fester. Iskandariyah - Babil. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- 2nd Lieutenant Charles R. Rubado. Tall Afar - Ninawa. Hostile - hostile fire - sniper
- Chief Warrant Officer Dennis P. Hay. Tall Afar - Ninawa. Hostile - hostile fire
- Sergeant 1st Class Obediah J. Kolath. Landstuhl Reg. Med. Ctr. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Specialist Joseph L. Martinez. Tall Afar - Ninawa. Hostile - hostile fire
- Master Sergeant Ivica Jerak. Husaybah - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Corporal Timothy M. Shea. Husaybah - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Sergeant 1st Class Trevor J. Diesing. Husaybah - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Master Sergeant Chris S. Chapin. Ramadi (Tamin Distr.) - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire - sniper
- 1st Lieutenant Carlos J. Diaz. Ba'qubah - Diyala Hostile - hostile fire - suicide bomber
- Private 1st Class Ramon Romero. Fallujah (near) - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Specialist Hatim S. Kathiria. Baghdad (southern part) Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack
- Staff Sergeant Victoir P. Lieurance. Samarra (SW of) - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Sergeant Joseph Daniel Hunt. Samarra (SW of) - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- 2nd Lieutenant James J. Cathey. Al Karmah (near) [nr. Fallujah] - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Private 1st Class Elden D. Arcand. Tall Afar (near) - Ninawa. Non-hostile - vehicle accident
- Staff Sergeant Brian Lee Morris. Tall Afar (near) - Ninawa. Non-hostile - vehicle accident
- Specialist Joseph C. Nurre. Ad Dwar (near Tikrit) - Salah ad-Din. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Sergeant Willard Todd Partridge. Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Private 1st Class Timothy J. Seamans. Samarra - Salah ad-Din. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Specialist Ray M. Fuhrmann II. Samarra - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Sergeant Nathan K. Bouchard. Samarra - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Staff Sergeant Jeremy W. Doyle. Samarra - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Specialist Michael J. Stokely. Baghdad (southwest part) Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Specialist Jose L. Ruiz. Mosul (central part) - Ninawa Hostile - hostile fire
- Sergeant Paul A. Saylor. Al Mahmudiyah - Babil Non-hostile - vehicle accident (drowning)
- Specialist Joshua P. Dingler. Al Mahmudiyah - Babil Non-hostile - vehicle accident (drowning)
- Sergeant Thomas J. Strickland. Al Mahmudiyah - Babil Non-hostile - vehicle accident (drowning)
- Specialist Toccara R. Green. Ar Rutbah (E of) [nr. Jordan border] - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Specialist Gary L. Reese Jr. Tuz Khurmatu [nr. Tikrit] - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire
- Sergeant Shannon D. Taylor. Tuz Khurmatu [nr. Tikrit] - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire
- Staff Sergeant Asbury F. Hawn II. Tuz Khurmatu [nr. Tikrit] - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire
- Specialist Brian K. Derks. Baghdad (western part) Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Specialist Rusty W. Bell. Taji (NW of Baghdad) Non-hostile - weapon discharge
- 1st Lieutenant David L. Giaimo. Tikrit (near) - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Lance Corporal Evenor C. Herrera. Ramadi - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Sergeant 1st Class Michael A. Benson. Bethesda Naval Hosp., MD Hostile - hostile fire - car bomb
- Staff Sergeant Ryan S. Ostrom. Camp Taqaddum (nr. Al Habbaniyah) - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire
- Sergeant Francis J. Straub Jr. Bayji (near) - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire
- Private 1st Class Nathaniel E. "Nate" Detample. Bayji (near) - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire
- Specialist John .Bayji. (near) - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire
- Specialist Gennaro Pellegrini Jr. Bayji (near) - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire
- Specialist Miguel Carrasquillo. Baghdad (central part) Hostile - hostile fire - suicide car bomb
- Private 1st Class Hernando Rios. Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire
- Specialist Anthony N. Kalladeen. Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire
- Staff Sergeant Ramon E. Gonzales Cordova. Ramadi - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire
- Private 1st Class Seferino J. Reyna. Taji (NW of Baghdad) Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Lance Corporal Chase Johnson Comley. Amiriyah (S of Fallujah) - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire - suicide car bomb
- Sergeant Brahim J. Jeffcoat. Samarra - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Specialist Kurt E. Krout. Samarra - Salah ad-Din Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Sergeant 1st Class Brett Eugene Walden. Al Kasik Military Base (near) - Ninawa Non-hostile - vehicle accident
- Gunnery Sergeant Terry W. Ball Jr. Bethesda Naval Hosp., MD Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
- Sergeant 1st Class Robert V. Derenda. Al Kasik Military Base (near) - Ninawa Non-hostile - vehicle accident
- Private 1st Class Nils George Thompson. Mosul - Ninawa Hostile - hostile fire - sniper
- Staff Sergeant Chad J. Simon. Fitchburg, WI Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
15 Died in Afghanistan
- Damion G. Campbell, (23) Army Staff Sergeant, 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Reg., 173rd Airborne Brigade. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack. Khayr Kot District [Paktika Prov.]. Baltimore, Maryland
- Christopher L. Palmer, (22) Army Private, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Reg., 173rd Airborne Brigade. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack. Deh Chopan (S of), Zabul Province. Sacramento, California
- Michael R. Lehmiller, (23) Army Sergeant. 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Reg., 173rd Airborne Brigade. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack. Deh Chopan (S of), Zabul Province. Anderson, South Carolina
- Joshua M. Hyland, (31) Army 1st Lieutenant. 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Reg., 173rd Airborne Brigade. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack. Deh Chopan (S of), Zabul Province. Missoula, Montana
- Blake W. Hall, (20) Army Specialist, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Reg., 173rd Airborne Brigade. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack. Deh Chopan (S of), Zabul Province. East Prairie, Missouri
- Phillip C. George, (22) Marine Lance Corporal, 2nd Bat., 3rd Marines, 3rd Mar. Div., III Mar. Exped. Force. Hostile - hostile fire. Taleban (near) [Kunar Province]. Houston, Texas
- Robert G. Davis, (23) Army Sergeant, 864th Engineer Bat., 555th Maneuver Enhancement Brig. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack. Kandahar (N of). Jackson, Missouri
- Laura M. Walker, (24) Army 1st Lieutenant, 864th Engineer Bat., 555th Maneuver Enhancement Brig. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack, Kandahar (N of). Not reported yet. Texas
- Jeremy A. Chandler, (30) Army Captain, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group. Non-hostile - explosives accident. FOB Ripley (at Tarin Kowt) [Oruzgan P.]. Clarksville, Tennessee
- Edward R. Heselton, (23) Army Reserve Sergeant. 391st Engineer Battalion, 415th Chemical Brigade. Hostile - hostile fire., Paktika Province (eastern part). Easley, South Carolina
- Christopher M. Katzenberger, (25) Army Specialist, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack. Bagram Air Base. St. Louis, Missouri
- Christopher M. Falkel, (22) Army Staff Sergeant, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group. Hostile - hostile fire. Deh Chopan (SW of), Zabul Province Highlands Ranch Colorado
- John M. Henderson Jr., (21) Army Private, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Non-hostile - vehicle accident (drowning). Kunar River (NE of Jalalabad). Columbus, Georgia
- Damian J. Garza, (19) Army Private 1st Class, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Non-hostile - vehicle accident (drowning). Kunar River (NE of Jalalabad). Odessa, Texas
- Theodore Clark Jr. , (31) Marine Gunnery Sergeant. 1st Combat Engr. Bat., 1st Marine Div., I Mar. Exped. Force. Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack. Orgun-E (near) [Paktika Province]. Emporia, Virginia
Wounded in Iraq: 593
- 3-Aug-9-Aug-05
63 -- Wounded)
45 -- Returned to Duty
- 10-Aug- 16-Aug-05
45 -- Wounded
99 -- Returned to Duty
- 17-Aug- 23-Aug-05
11 -- Wounded)
88 -- Returned to Duty
- 24-Aug- 30-Aug-05
38 -- Wounded
107 -- Returned to Duty
- 31-Aug- 07-Sep-05
5 -- Wounded)
92 -- Returned to Duty
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