U.S. Marines aid Philippine recovery

U.S. Marines aid Philippine recovery as hopes dim to find any survivors
by Oliver Teves

Left: Philippine army soldiers work with U.S. Marines as they try and build a pathway through the mud of a landslide, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2006, in Guinsaugon village in Leyte, southeast of Manila, Philippines. A total of 72 bodies have been recovered so far, but officials are estimating those who perished in Friday’s landslide to be over 1,500 including over 200 school children.

GUINSAUGON, Philippines — Several dozen U.S. Marines dug through thick mud with Philippine search teams Sunday at the site of a massive landslide as the prospect of finding survivors faded.

The men were part of a 1,000-strong Marine contingent aboard the USS Essex and the USS Harper’s Ferry, which sailed to the coast of Southern Leyte province after the Philippines asked Washington to divert some forces that recently arrived for joint military exercises…

Wearing camouflage, they hopped onto a bulldozer that carried them across a shallow stream and to the 100-acre stretch of mud that covered the farming village of Guinsaugon after the side of an neighboring mountain collapsed Friday.

The men used shovels, like Philippine troops and volunteers, out of concern that heavier equipment could cause the unstable mud to shift dangerously.

“Safety is a big concern,” said Capt. Jeff O’Donnell of New Orleans, who said that, while his home was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, “This is my first time to see anything like this.”

The Marines had hoped to work through the night, but found their flashlights weren’t bright enough to cut through the gloom.

By the end of the day, about 200 Marines were on the ground, with hundreds more expected to come ashore Monday.

Escorted by Philippine soldiers, a team of armed Marines surveyed the site earlier Sunday to determine how they could best assist recovery efforts.

U.S. Marine 1st Lt. Edward Rushing spoke with the highest-ranking Philippine military officer at the scene, Lt. Col. Raul Farnacio, who said he would need mining equipment.

The Americans also set up a water purification system and were working on another.

Some 1,800 people – most of the population of Guinsaugon – were feared dead in the landslide that followed two weeks of heavy rains.

“It’s mind-boggling, it’s horrendous,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Manuel Biadog, a Filipino-American chaplain assigned to Marines based in Okinawa, Japan.

Security is a concern for the Marines because communist guerrillas are active on Leyte island. The New People’s Army rebels, who have been waging a Marxist rebellion since the late 1960s, are on U.S. and European lists of terrorist organizations.

The rebels said Sunday they won’t attack the American troops, but warned them not to stray into rebel zones or commit provocative acts.

“We are under the protection of the Philippine military,” said O’Donnell, the Marine captain. “We are only assisting the Philippine government at their invitation.”

Gen. Douglas MacArthur chose Leyte island as the beachhead for his return to liberate the Philippines, a former U.S. colony, from Japanese troops.

His Oct. 20, 1944 landing fulfilled MacArthur’s “I shall return” promise to the Philippines, and preceded the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which involved more than 730 ships in one of history’s largest naval conflicts.