European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 25, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The assault second in a series saving a town Al w i a mix of ingenuity and trial and error Combine to Stop a lava flow blocks of Concrete each weighing b,000 pounds Circle the a event Quot above the River of lava on mount Etna the stars and stripes Jim Derheim staff photographer the beginning of the end for the River of lava heading for the outskirts of Zafferano Etna began on easter sunday not with a bang but with a slip. As a huge ch-53e super stallion lowered its Winch toward the first Concrete Block to be airlifted on that Winter morning Marine Lance Chi. John Bouche fell victim to the powerful 175-Mph downdrafts Bouche 21, was sent on a Boot first slide along the Snow covered parking lot that served As the staging area for what was dubbed operation a hot Rock. Quot i could t stand up Quot Bouche said. Quot normally you can adjust your stance to meet the wind. Today the footing just was t there. I went Down hard. The next thing i knew i was hitting a pile of  a bruised left leg for the lanky member of the 24th Marine expeditionary unit of Camp Lejune . Was the Only injury attributed to mount Etna a eruption. As with All Battle strategies the plan to divert mount Etna s charge of lava toward the City of 7,000 constantly changed in reaction to the movements of the adversary. And in this Case . Marines and italian demolition experts used All of their new found lava fighting skills right up to the hour of Victory Over Europe s largest and most Active Volcano. Long Days of weather induced delays had stopped the choppers from carrying the 8,000-lb. Concrete blocks to the vent where engineers hoped to Block a flow of lava for even a few minutes. That would be time enough to cause a backlog of lava which then would hopefully fan out and Cool giving the River of Rock a new direction. A new course would give the inhabitants of Zafferano Etna a reprieve from the onslaught that had claimed three houses. Sunday april 19 the Clouds that had shrouded the Volcano in an eerie Blanket of billowing White finally broke. The Clearing gave the marines mane vering room to Fly into a Valley that was a windswept vision of blackened earthly chaos. Some local residents had said All week that you should t fight Mother nature. Obviously the . Marines weren t listening. Helicopters lifted the first of 10 Concrete blocks to the vent a gaping Hole offering a glimpse of the fury of planet Earth. This River of lava flowing through a Tunnel of unknown dimensions was the target for Marine maj Jim Ross Pilot of one of the ch-53e super stallions. By mid morning winds had picked up causing the Day s work to be called off. After a Short rest and a Quick lunch at the base the weather improved enough for the helicopters and their Crews to return to the Mountain shortly before noon. However the italian demolition team had left the scene. A couple hours later thick fog moved in. Easter sunday ended on a note of disappointment As Ross decided to take advantage of a Short break in the Clouds to Lead the dash for Home Quot flying in this Type of situation is made even More difficult by the shifting Cross winds in the Crater area Quot Ross said. Quot the danger to the aircraft comes from the fact that when we re carrying a lond such As the sled which has a Broad surface area that can catch the wind it could cause the aircraft to be dragged off its Center of Gravity. We d have to Jettison the Lead at that Point continued on Page w battling mount Etna volcanology its and italian demolition experts believed that Only a massive Shux of foreign matter would be enough of a plug of Stop the flow of lava racing through a Tunnel High on mount Etna. Planners hoped that a blockage would cause the lava to Back up giving the molten Rock time to fan Oul and Cool while allowing the Mam flow to find new courses Over the of Zafferano Etna m Ori Sipai a network of weights sled and steel netting Are connected Over the vent helicopters plan to drop two 15,000-lb blocks on net combined weight of the blocks sled and net drag All pads into the lava vent to divert the flow of lava marines work on the Quot sled Quot apparatus that eventually was abandoned. At top Lance cps. Mike Richards and Doug samples make repairs while above Chi. Jerry Wells staff sgt. Mike Matthews and 1st it. Chris Arantz examine the contraption. A amps photos by Jim Derheim three marines attach s 15,000 la. Cement Block to s ch-53e super stallion. Saturday april 25, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 15