On Patrol

On March 11, 2011, the world witnessed a horrific natural disaster when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan. The earthquake, and the tsunami it triggered, left millions without power, homes, and often, looking for missing loved ones.

When the Japanese coastal village of Noda-mura was devastated by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit the island nation March 11, 2011, the U.S. military embarked on Operation Tomodachi, a humanitarian assistance mission. Soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines pitched in to help clean up debris and deliver relief supplies, including food and water. They also took time to sort salvageable personal items like photos, artwork, and family mementos. Civilians pitched in as well. On April 5, 2011, managers of Misawa Air Base’s Mokuteki Cafe presented the Misawa Red Cross station with a check for $1,691, which was the sum of the tips the cafe’s baristas had earned between the disaster and the donation. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joe McFadden.Air Force Senior Airman Joe McFadden witnessed the aftermath of these simultaneous catastrophes first-hand.

A public affairs specialist stationed at Hurlburt Field, near Fort Walton Beach, Florida, McFadden was asked to document the U.S. military’s recovery and relief efforts in Japan. A week after the disaster, he was in country and capturing moments he says not even he, as a journalist, could adequately describe.

“We had no idea the amount of devastation until we actually saw it,” he explained.

 McFadden was part of the first group of U.S. troops to help clean out the tsunami-devastated coastal village of Noda-mura, located in Japan’s Iwate prefecture.

“There were 40 of us—sailors, soldiers, Marines and airmen—driving through countryside of Japan,” he said. “As soon as we saw the landscape, the whole bus went silent. We were all looking around and trying to take it all in.”

 Complete neighborhoods were wiped out down to the foundation of the houses. At the request of the Japanese Self Defense Force, McFadden and his group walked, block by block, helping clean up debris including dolls, photo albums, and kitchen utensils, along with much larger items like cars.

 “We sorted them into different sections—artwork, photo albums, [and] valuable stuff,” he said. “I remember when we presented them back to the city how grateful they were.”

 McFadden and other troops lived by one motto during their time in Japan: “Go do good.”

 “When I was there in Noda-mura, I documented people doing good,” he said. “There was so much good going on there I wanted to make sure the people could visualize it.”

 Even though McFadden has been home for more than a month now, he thinks of his experience in Japan often.

 “I understand a picture is worth a thousand words,” he said. “My words could not convey the humanity and what was going on out there and what our American service members were responding to.

“I was humbled by the quiet strength of the Japanese people in the face of this disaster,” he recalled.