Subj : Newsline Part 2
To : ALL
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Jul 08 2016 06:17 pm
REMEMBERING THE GRANITE MOUNTAIN HOTSHOTS
PAUL/ANCHOR: Arizona's tragic Yarnell Hill fire isn't likely to be
forgotten, and neither are the 19 firefighters whose lives were claimed
in the 2013 blaze. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mike Askins, KE5CXP, reports
on some hams who are making sure those memories stay fresh.
MIKE: In Prescott, Arizona, June 30 marks a painful anniversary: On that
date in 2013, wildfire-fighting specialists known as the Granite Mountain
Hotshots set out to safeguard the former gold-mining town of Yarnell from
an advancing blaze. That brave effort left the hotshot unit virtually
destroyed, with only 1 of the 20 men surviving their mission. This past
June 30 also marked another anniversary: the third year of the Yavapai
(Yah-Vah-Pie) Amateur Radio Club's special event station operated in
memory, and in honor, of those who perished. The amateurs worked the bands
with the call N7GMH, and despite poor conditions on several of them,
completed almost 300 contacts, mostly from points east.
By all accounts, it was an emotional tribute. Said Don Bauer, WB7TPH,
QUOTE "Quite a few of our contacts are from people who are, or have been
either firefighters, or wildland firefighters. They, of course, share in
the loss of these men." ENDQUOTE
Doug Freeman, KV8TD, said the event's success is measured not just in its
contacts, but in the sense of appreciation the community had for the
on-air activity. Freeman said that before the station began this year's
operation, he got to speak to Brendan McDonough, the sole survivor of the
2013 fire, and to two women who worked with the firefighters' families.
Of McDonough, Freeman said, QUOTE "if he had not been out of town,
Brendan would have joined us at the station." ENDQUOTE
N7GMH worked out of the club station and at one of several coordinated
home stations. The contacts stayed as local as Prescott on 2m, and as far
away as New York, Georgia, Puerto Rico, Canada and even Venezuela.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins, KE5CXP.
**
A VERY PRESIDENTIAL NPOTA
PAUL/ANCHOR: Marking the National Parks' centennial, one group of
Washington, D.C. area hams recently elected themselves to the White
House. That is to say, they elected to operate there on the grounds.
Here's my report on those hams with not-quite presidential ambitions.
PAUL: If your goal is to get to the White House in an election year,
it usually means a lot of campaigning, debating, shaking hands, and
expensive television ads, unless you happen to be the HACDC Amateur
Radio Club in Washington, D.C. Then, all you need is a portable radio,
a small antenna, and permission. They recently operated from the White
House grounds which is an actual national park. I recently spoke with
Don Jones, K6ZO, who said they had a whole lot of fun -- in fact, they
had so much fun...
DON: ...We had so much fun we're going to come back on the 25th of
August for a full-blown day. Aug. 25 is the day that the National Parks
celebrates their 100th anniversary.
PAUL: Jones said that for the short time they were on the air, this
first time they made quite a few contacts.
DON: We were on 20 meters, CW mainly, and we were there doing a
demonstration for about 30 minutes, and we made 22 contacts. We had a
special call sign, which was Whiskey-Three-Hotel, for White House.
Propagation was really good.
PAUL: They plan to return. The next time they want it to be much bigger.
DON: We just flit in and out with a backpack and a portable station, but
we are going to go down and find out from the National Parks what we
need to do, because we want to set up a tent, a banner, and sort of
celebrate the centennial with the parks service.
PAUL: If you're in the Washington, D.C., area, and want to find out more
about the club, visit their website at hacdc.org and listen for them to
be on the air again this August. They still won't have to buy television
time, or kiss any babies though.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO.
**
BREAK HERE:
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the K7MRG repeater
in Prescott, Arizona on Tuesday evenings.
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