HATTIESBURG, Miss. - It was unexpected. It was loud. It was terrifying. Those were the words spoken and the emotions felt by residents of Hattiesburg who were caught in the destructive path of a tornado that came roaring in the night.
"I heard my sister screaming," said Jimmy Welch, a Hattiesburg resident who helplessly watched from the inside of his home as it was ripped apart in front of him."When I woke up I was on the floor. It sounded like a train was rushing through the house. Broken glass, limbs, rocks, all kinds of debris was flying everywhere."
Soldiers from multiple Mississippi National Guard units were activated to assist local authorities with disaster relief efforts after a tornado ripped across southern Mississippi on Jan. 28, damaging more than 1,200 homes in eight counties and leaving four people dead, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
"It's devastating," said Sgt. Christian Cowler, a Soldier of the 3656th Maintenance Company, 184th Sustainment Command."Hattiesburg and Petal are my home."
The 3656th Maintenance Company was one of the first units mobilized just minutes after the EF3 tornado struck. Staff Sgt. Michael Clark, a squad leader of Detachment 1, 3656th Maintenance Co., said his team was not prepared for the devastation they encountered when tasked to assist Hattiesburg.
"It was awful," Clark recalled."You'd have one house standing, and then at the next door neighbor's house there would be nothing but a slab left. It's hard to fathom how we only lost four lives."
Clark's unit spent the first day assisting law enforcement with roving patrols and security checkpoints. They ensured only essential personnel such as emergency and search crews were allowed through disaster areas.
"Whatever the police department needed, we were there for," recounted Clark.
In addition to the patrols and checkpoints, Clark said his unit offered a helping hand wherever it was needed.
"People were basically in shock," said Clark."You'd have people walking around just in a daze. We tried to assist them with water. If we had any food we'd give it to them."
While assisting the city of Hattiesburg, Clark said the spirits of those who were most affected started to rise. He recalled speaking to a family that was in their house when the tornado hit.
"They were just happy to be alive," said Clark."There was not a wall left standing in their house."
The family said all of their cars were two blocks down. The only thing that kept them alive was a small cradle of space between the rafters in their home.
The wreckage the tornado left was not foreign to Clark, having witnessed and assisted during the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina. He said he could relate with the family, remembering when his family's home suffered $56,000 in damages from Katrina in 2005.
However, Clark said what made this disaster unique was the manner in which it came.
"This struck like a thief in the night," said Clark."No one knew it was coming until it was here."
To make it worse, Clark said those living next to the railroad tracks thought the tornado was just the coal train coming through, but when the house started to shake they knew it wasn't.
Residents like Welch didn't have a home to come back to, but they said having the National Guard around to assist helps them look forward with hope as they pick up the pieces.
"We just want to give thanks to all of ya'll," said Welch."It means a lot."
It also meant a great deal to Clark to hear those words. He reached his 25-year mark of service in the Mississippi National Guard on his fifth and last day assisting the city after the tornado. Reflecting on those years and on the recent devastation, Clark said helping his community is precisely what he signed up to do.
"This is what we are here for," said Clark."We are Citizen-Soldiers. We belong in our communities and we are here to help our communities."