European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 9, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday May 91991 the stats and stripes b Pago 3 a amps Glia Sulu Gowor marines unload Relief supplies destined for kurdish refugees from a ch-46 helicopter aboard the Guadalcanal at the Southern turkish port of lskenderiin.3,600 leathernecks help supplies reach kurd by j. Kin Cruger Mediterranean Bureau aboard the Guadalcanal time was fast running out for 700,000 starving kurd when a . Navy task Force arrived in turkish Waters last month. The allies Relief Effort had been using c-130 aircraft and a handful of helicopters to Airdrop the most urgently needed supplies to the kurd. But the Effort if it was to be More than a Stopgap measure needed Many More choppers to deliver the massive amounts of supplies precisely where they were needed. Marine amphibious ready group 1-91, aboard three ships had 28 helicopters and 3,600 leathernecks to tackle the task. The three ships a the escort Carrier Guadalcanal the amphibious transport Dock Austin and the Charleston an amphibious cargo ship arrived at Iskenderun on april 11. They were the first american naval vessels to Call at the Southern turkish port in 12 years. A. .�����.��. A. /. A a Quot a within 36, hours Marine ch-53 and ch-46 helicopters were hauling supplies to the kurd. Before the Marine helicopter lift a few Allied choppers operating out of in Ciurlik a in Southern Turkey and Diyarbakir in Southeastern Turkey had been Able to deliver Only several tons of supplies daily. Once the marines started their Relief runs into High and Remote kurdish Camps the total daily tonnage brought by chopper quickly zoomed to 119 tons arid then to More than 500 tons. While Marine helicopters helped sustain the refugees hundreds of Highfill marines and combat equipment from the 24th Marine expeditionary unit were being unloaded from the three  marines from the  were dispatched to silo i Turkey and then into Northern Iraq to help establish the Safe Haven zone there for return my ret gecs. A we of loaded close to 250,000 pounds of cargo plus the marines in less than 48 hours Quot said Marine Chi. Ellrey Lapp. 24, a member of the Guadalcanal combat cargo platoon. A participating in this has folded our outfit together Quot said Chi. Jose Salazar. 31, another cargo platoon member. A hearing what was happening in the Camps the , turned my stomach. I know what we Are doing Here is important a a said Salazar a resident of Hobbs. . A a a. A a the Marine participation m operation provide com Lort has greatly improved morale said Navy a Apt. Mitch 1 Light ill 47, the Guadalcanal skipper a the men Hail been a Little Down that they weren to in the War but they know that Here they Are saving lives and that they helped save hundreds of Yves each Dav in the Days after we first arrived Quot said Highfill a resident of Winter Garden Ita help on wheels division builds refugee Camp a by Chuck Roberts a a a staff writer Rafha saudi Arabia a the 2nd army div fwd has temporarily changed its nickname from a hell on wheels to a help on  the division was pulling out of Iraq on april 18 when about 1,200 of its troops were diverted to an overflowing refugee Camp near the saudi arabian City of Rafha. Their Job was to provide internal and external Security. But the soldiers soon were building a refugee Camp for More than 21,000 peo pie then processing 9,q00 More refugees airlifted from another refugee Camp in Safwan Iraq. Instead of heading Home to Karlstedt Germany Many of the soldiers have found themselves in the Middle of a huge Effort to help the people of the country they came to fight a a it a a Job that i have to do Quot said sgt. Walter Lee Hardin a truck Driver who delivered 6,000 Gallons of water each Day to the refugee Camp about 20 Miles North of Rafha and about three Miles South of the iraqi Border. A a in la do anything to support the refugees a said the native of Peoria 111. A it could happen to us. If that was us we would want the same  a when the two infantry companies from the division arrived they helped soldiers from the 793rd my in and French forces provide Security at a refugee Camp just inside the iraqi Border. After seeing the squalid conditions Brig. Gen. Paul e. Blackwell division commander proposed to the saudi gov eminent that a bigger and better Camp be built inside the saudi Border. In about a w Eek a Camp was built that contains 200 toilets 200 showers and storage for about 7.000 Gallons of water. When the Airlift began bringing refugees in faster than the saudi government could process them the army quickly built an overflow Camp that allowed the refugees to be airlifted from Safwan by the May 6 deadline. A a it a a phenomenal tribute to the american Soldier that he was Able to show the flexibility of transferring from fighting to taking care of the aftermath of Var Quot Blackwell said. He was to turn control of the Camp to the saudi government in a ceremony today. T hat will allow the 1.20 1 . Serv a a ice members who participated in task f orce Rafha to begin  Home again. The military a so. Assisted the saudis with processing the refugees As they got off the plane at the civilian Airport in Rafha first sgt. Chuck Buckner added a personal touch to the procedure by drawing Happy faces and hearts on the hands of iraqi children after they had their identification pictures taken he said he also helped saved the life of an iraqi child by applying cardiopulmonary resuscitation. T he Mother then tried to give the infant to Buckner so that the child would have a Chance Lor a better life Buckner said. A sail As it is Quot lie added. A i think everyone should see. Something like this its a humbling  Washington a Gen. 11. Norman Schwarzkopf told Congress on wednesday that he and his forces we on the persian Gulf War largely because of support from the american Public and a the finest military equipment in the  in a ringing speech the desert storm commander stressed the dedication and diversity of the troops who fought in the Middle East some of whom were sitting near him in the House chamber. A we were the Thunder and Quot lightning of desert storm. We re the United states military and we re Damn proud of it a Schwarzkopf declared. Applause broke out among the lawmakers Many of whom had voted in january against authorizing military action in the Gulf. Schwarzkopf wearing a full dress uniform was escorted into the Jam packed chamber by House and Senate leaders As an army band played a fanfare. He was interrupted 16 times for applause or standing ovations. One of the ovations came after he said desert storm veterans feel a special kinship with earlier veterans who fought in the mountains and Rice paddies of  a they served just As proudly in Vietnam As we did in the Middle i vast Quot said the general himself a Vietnam Veteran. In an implied comparison with Vietnam Schwarz kept thanked president Bush Tor having Confidence in the military to conduct the Gulf War As it saw tit. A it hat is the right Way to tight a War Quot he said. Schwarzkopf thanked Congress and a previous administrations Quot Tor the tanks aircraft ships and equipment used in the desert War. Quot without question that is what gave us the Confidence to attack in tie Teeth of our  he said