Port au Prince Haiti - 1954 & January 2010

In 1954 I was aboard the aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge, and we were on a Caribbean Cruse called Operation Blackjack.  Our detachment was the VC-4 Squadron and this particular cruse was one of seven that I took during 1954-55.  Our Corsairs F4U's were equipped with electronic gear used to detect submarines in the area.  One of the stops that we made was Port au Prince in Haiti.  We were anchored in the bay that leads into the city of Port au Prince and dugout canoes would paddle out to the carrier requesting anything of trade value for their hand crafted mahogany boxes.  The individuals in the dugouts were exceedingly poor and you could tell that their need was very great.  Many of the sailors aboard the "Valley" made exchanges of food and clothing for the little mahogany boxes - I saw one of my buddies trade his "watch cap" for one of the boxes (the watch cap was a dark navy wool cap that fit tight to your head) and I was puzzled as to why the individual would find a use for it in this hot Ecuator climate.

We went ashore for liberty and our liberty launch landed in an area right in front of the Port au Prince's open market.  I was a young sailor from Nebraska, in the middle of the US, and wasn't accustomed to see such open poverty.  The market was steaming with people, many of whom you could tell were looking for a way to earn or trade something for their next meal - and they really looked like that could use a meal or just something to tide them over.  My commander was between 6'4'' & 6'6" tall and looked like a giant as he walked through the market place.  I was with about six of my buddies from the squadron and we were walking just a bit behind Commander Shaw when we saw him stop to talk with a hungry looking boy with his donkey.  The boy was leading the donkey with a rope halter and Commander Shaw offered him $10 for his donkey.  The boy was all smiles when he handed Commander Shaw the rope halter and pocketed the $10.  Commander Shaw saw me walking up with buddies and waved for me to come over to him.  I was the squadron's storekeeper and even though I was just a Petty Officer the commander was always good and fair with me.  He said, "Phelps, when you get back to the carrier dig out the Bureau of Agriculture's manual and order me some feed for my donkey."  I laughed and said, "Yes sir, I'll take care of it as soon as I get back to the carrier."

The commander was really a site to see when he got on that little donkey - his feet were close to dragging the ground as he rode along.  We noticed that the little boy continued to follow the commander as he traversed across the square.  When the commander reached the other side of the square he called the little boy over to him and said, "Here young man, I really don't think an aircraft carrier is anyplace for such a fine donkey so I'm giving him back to you, along with another $10 so you can buy him some feed."  You could tell that the little boy was grateful to have his donkey back and elated that he had made more money this morning than his dad probably made for a month.  The little boy said, (in pretty good English) "Thank you kind sir, I will give the money to my mother to buy food for our family."  Us young sailors just looked at this situation and were thankful that our commander had shown such a caring heart for that little boy.  That day in the market square of Port au Prince, six young sailors observed a poverty level they were unaccustomed to, a definite life lesson.

When the earthquake hit in Port au Prince the other day, my flashback memory was our walk through the market square that day in 1954.  The little boy with the donkey would now be in his mid to late 60's and I wonder if he survived the quake.  I wonder also how many in his family were injured or killed in this terrible earthquake.  I remember how the structures looked then, very flimsy and very poorly constructed, what will be left after such a violent earthquake.  I remember seeing the very large Catholic church near the market square and wonder now if it was the same church that received all of the damage.  The death toll keeps rising and you wonder if they will be able to supply the survivors with enough food and shelter before its too late.

I will now end this trip down memory lane at Port au Prince in Haiti.   I do request that anyone reading this blog - please take time out to pray for the Haitian people.  Select a charity you feel will do the most good for the people of Haiti and send what you can to support the relief effort.  Thank you!