European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 07, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A whirlwind Hurricane. Andrew by Kevin Dougherty Kaiserslautern Bureau any thrill i icing about thwack Anicas. Kevin Friel derived from exp a killer Hurricane wore offt the time the Palm Trees swept Forth like giant Windshield Wip in a four Story apartment building that no longer seemed Safe and secure the air Force staff sergeant pulled a Pillow Over his head to muffle the Din. It was past Midnight and Homestead Fla., began to stir. When the Pillow failed to silence Hurricane an Drew Friel left the Comfort of a warm bed for the hallway where he and two friends waited. They eventually sought shelter in a bathroom. We were three Guys in a bathroom with our feet up against the door just in Case said Friel. That was How they were prepared to somehow. Keep the intruder at Bay. Friel survived the most ferocious Hurricane to hit Florida since the 1920s, at least 20 people were killed. With damage estimates at More than $30 Bil lion Hurricane Andrew is considered the costliest natural disaster in . History. An electronics technician at Ramstein a Ger Many Friel is one of about 100 airmen from Home Stead fab now stationed in Europe. Andrew Cut their tour Short when it swept across the Florida Peninsula and destroyed much of the f-16 fighter Jet base. All but two of the fighter jets were removed prior to the Hurricane s arrival. If you had flown a bombing Mission Over the base Friel said you could t have done the dam age the storm  Homestead was evacuated on the afternoon of aug. 23, roughly 12 hours before the storm reached is John Bohuw Kevin Friel we were extremely  land. Friel sent his expectant wife Sharon and 3 year old son Ryan North to a relative s House in fort White Fla. He stayed behind to protect his Home from looters who might be lurking after the storm. Friel went to a Friend s second floor apartment a couple of Miles from the base to wait out the Hurri Cane. They brought bread Peanut butter and Jelly Chicken wings soda and Beer to sustain themselves and a Dart Board and movie videos for entertain ment. We were ready Friel said. Forecasters predicted the storm would skirt North of Homestead and hit Miami Early monday morning aug. 24. Base officials expected to reopen the base on the. Following wednesday figuring it would take a couple of Days to mop up. Instead Andrew headed straight for the base. Friel Learned later that winds were clocked at More than 200 Mph along the base s flight line the air pressure from the storm was so great that some pets actually exploded Friel said. In the apartment where frill spent the night the windows bowed but did not break. When Friel and his two friends tried to leave the apartment the next morning the air pressure was such that it took them about 30 minutes just to open the door. When they surveyed the immediate area they saw buildings that were stripped of their outer Walls. Frill recalls peering into the ruins of a condominium and seeing clothes neatly Hung in closets and dishes still stacked and  Andrew felled buildings Power lines and Trees. It rolled cars into the base swimming Pool tossed a 19 foot a Haut truck onto the roof of a building and lev eled Trees on the base Golf course. There were even places where the Hurricane dug spirals in to the con Crete. Damage to the base and adjoining Community was simply beyond a Pessimist s wildest fears. A Day after the storm a spokeswoman with the Florida Community affairs department declared Homestead air Force base no longer  the damage was indiscriminate. When it finished annihilating the shop Petty the tallest Structure left standing was a soda dispensing machine. You would have two houses Side by Side and one would be ruined and the other would still be stand ing Friel said. The inside of Friel s on base House was plastered with mud grass and leaves. The sight of his win Dowless Home reminded him of a Chia pet a planter advertised every Christmas in the United states for those desperate for a gift. Friel is now in the process of filing a claim to re coup some of his losses. He and his friends were so overwhelmed by the destruction that they could Only laugh when they re turned to the apartment. It was their Way of coping with the anxiety after surviving such a cataclysm. Had they known Andrew s ferocity they never would have stayed behind Friel said. We could have been seriously Hurt Friel said. We were extremely  Kenneth s comeback from the cover Good. I said to myself he s going to make it " later Kenneth awoke for a split second and said Mamma recalled Alice. The euphoria was Brief As the couple knew their Only son had a Long Way to go. Doctors warned the parents that Kenneth would fade in and out of consciousness. And for a period he acted so aggressively he had to be lied Down. Meanwhile friends acquaintances and Complete strangers in the shape military Community mobilized to help the family. The first Day they brought us food they were very concerned Carlos said. We had a lot of peo ple come visit him and supporting  they brought him tons and tons of gifts. It was like Christmas Alice said. Some of those gifts came from children in his first Grade class at shape american elementary school. They brought in Little gifts for him recalled his teacher Esther Marshall. The children wrote to him  the Church Community was not to be left out. Jehovah s witnesses mormons pentecostal the baptists the catholics everybody came everybody was involved Carlos said. Kenneth was baptized and a mass was delivered in his name. A lot of people came up and asked is there any thing i can do for you " Carlos said. I said sure. Pray for my son to come Back that s Why i say it s a Miracle " / Kenneth s teacher said she understands the family s belief. "1 saw him on sunday four Days after the Acci is Rosemary Sawyer Kenneth Santiago is playing again. Dent at shape Hospital Marshall said. There was no recognition of me or his daddy at All. Then i saw him on wednesday. When i walked in he said hello mrs. Marshall. It was hard not to  Kenneth was hospitalized in the belgian and shape facilities for a total of eight Days before Doc tors allowed him to go Home where they hoped familiar surroundings would Speed his recovery. Alice stayed Home from her Job As Teller with the 127th finance group at shape for six weeks to care for a helpless Kenneth. Once again the Community rallied with government employees giving Alice More than three weeks of annual leave. Kenneth had to be taught to walk on crutches until he could have a walking cast Alice said. After two weeks Kenneth met with a Tutor Ivi hours each Day. He returned to school in november. The doctors say Kenneth is very Strong Carlos said. And they re very amazed with the recovery he made so quickly for the Type of Accident that  Kenneth still struggles with concentration and knows that he has lots of work to do to catch up from the 33 Days of school he missed. My Job is to work hard Kenneth tells his teacher at school she said. It also will take some time to determine whether Kenneth will experience lingering effects from the head trauma he received. Until Ihen the Santiago family is thanking god for a Miracle that Carlos said was especially meaningful for them Over the holidays god gave me my son just like he gave his Only son for  Page 4 sunday february 7, 1933