A Tornado's Tragic Toll

135-mph Twister Kills 4 Scouts In Iowa; Heroic Moments In Aftermath

(CBS/ AP)  When the howling winds finally died down, the Boy Scouts - true to their motto, "Be Prepared" - sprang into action.

Putting their first-aid training to use, they applied tourniquets and gauze to the injured. Some began digging victims from the rubble of a collapsed chimney. And others broke into an equipment shed, seized chainsaws and other tools, and started clearing fallen trees from a road.

Dozens of the Scouts, ages 13 to 18, were hailed for their bravery and resourcefulness Thursday, the morning after a tornado with windspeeds upwards of 135 miles an hour, reports CBS News correspondent Dave Price, killed four boys and left the Iowa camp unrecognizable.

"There were some real heroes at this Scout camp," Gov. Chet Culver said, adding that he believes the Scouts saved lives while they waited for paramedics to cut through the trees and reach the camp a mile into the woods.

The 93 boys, all elite Scouts attending a weeklong leadership training session, had taken part in a mock emergency drill with 25 staff members just a day before the twister hit.

"They knew what to do, they knew where to go, and they prepared well," said Lloyd Roitstein, an executive with the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Among the dead were: Aaron Eilerts, 14, of Eagle Grove, Iowa, who was known as an outgoing friendly kid who loved Elvis Presley, reports Price; Josh Fennen, 13, of Omaha, who was described as creative, confident and a natural leader; Sam Thomsen, 13, of Omaha who was known to love scouting, sports and his church; and Ben Petrzilka, 14, of Omaha, who is said to have enjoyed the outdoors and liked to hunt and fish with his father.

Roitstein said all four had taken shelter in a building that was leveled, and all of them were found near its collapsed stone chimney. The governor said the cause of death had not been determined.

Scout supervisor Thomas White recalled riding out the storm in a ditch and then running to help.

"It was about five minutes after I was up there that I saw the scouts that had died," White told Davis. "But I stayed calm when I was up there cause one thing got to do is stay calm yourself so other people stay calm. Then it goes a lot smoother and people get taken care of and more peolpe survive."

At least a dozen people remained hospitalized Thursday with everything from bruises to spine and head injuries.

At the campsite, a pickup truck had been tossed on its side. Tree limbs rested on top of the Scouts' tents. Trees were flattened. And the one-room multipurpose building where the scouts died was a pile of cinderblocks and chimney stones.

Boy Scout officials said the campers had heard the severe weather alerts but decided not to leave because a storm was on the way.

"They were watching the weather and monitoring with a weather radio, listening for updates," said Deron Smith, a national spokesman for the organization. "The spot they were at was the lowest spot of camp. It was deemed to be the safest place."

A group of Scouts who had set out on a hike had returned to the camp before the storm hit, Smith said.

On the other side of the state, 3,900 homes were evacuated from flood-stricken Cedar Rapids, where rescuers removed people with boats, officials estimated 100 blocks were under water, and a railroad bridge over the flooded Cedar River collapsed.

In Albert Lea, Minn., 90 miles south of Minneapolis, a man died Thursday after his vehicle plunged from a washed-out road and was submerged in floodwaters.

Also Thursday, several Kansas communities began cleaning up from tornadoes a day earlier that killed at least two people, destroyed much of the small town of Chapman, and caused extensive damage on the Kansas State University campus.

Meanwhile, tales of heroism emerged from the Iowa camp.

Roitstein said a group of scouts pulled the camp ranger and his family from their destroyed home. Doug Rothgeb of Omaha said his 15-year-old son emerged from a ditch where he had taken cover, then joined other scouts to break into the equipment shed.

Fourteen-year-old Zach Jessen of Fremont, Neb., said that before the storm struck, someone spotted the rotation in the clouds and a siren sounded in the multipurpose building, which had tables and a TV in addition to a fireplace. Jessen said he and others managed to get Scouts out of their tents and indoors just before the tornado hit. According to Roitstein, the Scouts took shelter in three buildings.

Jessen said shortly afterward, the door on the multipurpose building flew open and he heard someone yelling to get under the tables.

"All of a sudden, the tornado came and took the building," Jessen said. "It sounded like a giant freight train going right over the top of you."

Jessen said shortly afterward, the door on the multipurpose building flew open and he heard someone yelling to get under the tables.

Ethan Hession, 13, said he crawled under a table with his friend.

"I just remember looking over at my friend, and all of a sudden he just says to me, `Dear God, save us,"' he said on NBC's "Today" show.

Ethan said the scouts' first-aid training immediately compelled them to act.

"We were prepared," he said. "We knew that we need to place tourniquets on wounds that were bleeding too much. We knew we need to apply pressure and gauze. We had first-aid kits, we had everything. We knew about this, we knew how to do it."

He added: "All of a sudden people started taking action. Like it just clicked. One of the staff members took off his shirt and put it right on the guy who was bleeding and told me to get on top of him so he would stop moving so he could apply pressure and gauze. We started digging people out of the rubble."

The 1,800-acre Little Sioux Scout Ranch is in the Loess Hills in westernmost Iowa, close to the Nebraska line, about 40 miles north of Omaha. The hills rise 200 feet above the plains in what is otherwise an exceedingly flat state. While tornadoes are often associated with flat, open land, Iowa is in Tornado Alley, and forecasters said twisters are not unusual in the Loess Hills.

The camp includes hiking trails through narrow valleys and over steep hills, a 15-acre lake and a rifle range.

Lisa Petry, the mother of 13-year-old Boy Scout Jose Olivo, said she had a bad feeling Wednesday morning when she heard reports of possible severe weather. "I thought, `Should I call the scout camp and ask if there's severe weather, where will they go?"' she said.

The governor would not address questions about whether the Scouts should have remained at the campground after severe weather alerts were issued.

"There's always lessons learned from any natural disaster, from any tragedy," Culver said. "We need to focus on the victims, the families affected."

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff toured the camp and said it appeared that the Boy Scouts "didn't have a chance" and that the tornado came through the camp "like a bowling ball."

[stupidrules3]

I wonder if there is a special "merit badge" for being in a tornado?? (It could be a teensy ruby slipper!)


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Posted by raflin1 at 09:37 AM : Jun 12, 2008


I can''t wait for the next court of honor to see you get your "stupid idiot" merit badge. It''s got your picture on it.

[blackrose1978]

I am a mother of scouts as well as a scouting leader. During last years campout at Camp Augustine in Nebraska we had severe weather and the sirens were sounded. We took shelter and lucky for us the storm passed quickly with just water damage to tents. I belive that it is more dangerous to try and evacuate when severe weather is on the way because you never know if the storm might speed up. You are better off staying put and taking shelter where you are.

[blackrose1978]

I am a mother of scouts as well as a scouting leader. During last years campout at Camp Augustine in Nebraska we had severe weather and the sirens were sounded. We took shelter and lucky for us the storm passed quickly with just water damage to tents. I belive that it is more dangerous to try and evacuate when severe weather is on the way because you never know if the storm might speed up. You are better off staying put and taking shelter where you are.

[blackrose1978]

I am a mother of scouts as well as a scouting leader. During last years campout at Camp Augustine in Nebraska we had severe weather and the sirens were sounded. We took shelter and lucky for us the storm passed quickly with just water damage to tents. I belive that it is more dangerous to try and evacuate when severe weather is on the way because you never know if the storm might speed up. You are better off staying put and taking shelter where you are.

[blackrose1978]

I am a mother of scouts as well as a scouting leader. During last years campout at Camp Augustine in Nebraska we had severe weather and the sirens were sounded. We took shelter and lucky for us the storm passed quickly with just water damage to tents. I belive that it is more dangerous to try and evacuate when severe weather is on the way because you never know if the storm might speed up. You are better off staying put and taking shelter where you are.

[blackrose1978]

I am a mother of scouts as well as a scouting leader. During last years campout at Camp Augustine in Nebraska we had severe weather and the sirens were sounded. We took shelter and lucky for us the storm passed quickly with just water damage to tents. I belive that it is more dangerous to try and evacuate when severe weather is on the way because you never know if the storm might speed up. You are better off staying put and taking shelter where you are.

[blackrose1978]

I am a mother of scouts as well as a scouting leader. During last years campout at Camp Augustine in Nebraska we had severe weather and the sirens were sounded. We took shelter and lucky for us the storm passed quickly with just water damage to tents. I belive that it is more dangerous to try and evacuate when severe weather is on the way because you never know if the storm might speed up. You are better off staying put and taking shelter where you are.

[rwsmith29456]

I will stand up for scouting by saying it helped keep me on the right path and was a tremendous learning and growing experience.

[rwsmith29456]

The tragedy is even greater because we have lost 4 promising, first rate young men.

[newwoman1]

I just want to say that my prayers go out to the victims of this nasty disaster, and to say thank god that there are boy scouts. Hearing how they sprang into action to help save the lives of the injured is breathtaking. For them being as young as they are they have commited their childhoods to learning the trades of many. They came together and did what they had learned to do and in this day and age it''s nice to hear that there''s hope out there for the future. I am from the hometown of Aaron Eilerts and if those kids are at all like him we are lucky. God Bless

[marcpcbs]

My prayers go out to all the Scouts and the families hit by this tragedy.

[northwestmom]

Bless all those hurt or traumatized in the Little Sioux Creek Scout Ranch tragedy, their families, loved ones, fellow Scouts and Scouters, friends, and schoolmates. Especially Aaron Eilerts, Josh Fennen, Sam Thomsen, and Ben Petrzilka. May you walk in Peace.
With the training, knowledge and skills these Scouts and Scouters learned in Scouting, they coped admirably with disaster. Scouting isn%u2019t perfect. I disagree with some of BSAs political and social positions. More than one BSA position was discussed in our home and contrary opinions were aired. Our family discussed and aired personal and often contrary opinions, regarding political and social issues impacting our lives from elsewhere too. But BSA National has not ruined the Scouting program yet. It is still a good framework for youth activity. God, Country, and Family (however you define those concepts) make a solid base for development. Learning skills to take care of yourself and others makes sense for each Scout personally, and for their communities. Competency, camaraderie, and the challenges and wonder of nature were important to my son and many of his friends as they grew up.
NorthwestMOM with many roundtables, trainings, and miles under my belt (parent of an Eagle and spouse to a Buffalo)

[bdrlnt4rl]

newster1

you obviously know nothing about tornados. think about what you have said and look at the history of how tornado act. they have a mind of their own.

be rest assured i have deemed myself the police of this site from idiots and will report with 100% removal of insensitive comments toward the brave boys who did what they could under a very scary situation.

[sear1ngtruth]

And already, you global warming jerkwads progressives are blaming these deaths on global warming to push your tax em all to death agenda.
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/progressreport
"June 12, 2008by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Ali Frick, Benjamin Armbruster, and Brad Johnson
ENVIRONMENT
Global Boiling

The evidence for the consequences of global warming is appearing with alarming frequency. This morning''s headlines are filled with tales of deadly weather: "At least four people were killed and about 40 injured when a tornado tore through a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa on Wednesday night";
"

[cattlekate]

Look, the Boy Scouts are a bigoted, anti-gay, anti-American organization. This article is nothing more than an attempt to portray this as normal and respectable even though it isn''t. Why is CBSNews using dead children to advance their political agenda?Posted by jumkey at 07:22 PM : Jun 12, 2008

Are you a JOKE? Scouting is the best gift a parent can give a child and this is from a Dem Mom/Engineer of two scouts.

God Bless these brave boys and please, let their families survive this awful tragedy.

Their sons will continue to live on through mine.

Scout salute!

[sgtrds-e4]

"A scout is a friend to all". These words were penned by Lord Baden-Powell.

Our hearts go out to those we have lost and those who are suffering. You are have been and will continue to be our friends.

From an Eagle Scout and a former Cubmaster.

Posted by gll1955



very respectfully said!!!!! i will second that


Posted by bdrlnt4rl at 03:11 PM : Jun 12, 2008

Add me to that list too! Well said!!

[bretster7]

codymac said,
I''''m in the mental health business and work close to a major university. My agency is funded in part with city and county match. You would not believe the number of young adults we see who were home schooled and just cannot adjust socially. To that extent, thanks for your tax dollars



What does being close to a major university have to do with your statement? Is that supposed to ad credibility to your claim?
So, why not give some specifics on these poor homeschoolers who can''t adjust socially.

You want to talk about kids who can''t socially adjust. How about the Columbine shooters? Or any other public schooled kid who has gone on a murderous rampage.
The socialazation arguement is all you anti-homeschoolers can come up with, and it is complete hogwash.
My 17 year old anti-social homeschooled son, received his GED at 16. Scored in the 98% percentile. He is now interning at an architectual firm, while taking courses at the local communinty college. He will have his license before he is 20. He will also speack respectfully to any adult and look them in the eye as he carries on a conversation.
Yeah, he is completely inept at social situtations.

[bdrlnt4rl]

jumkey

look, the boy scouts have just as many rights to stand up for their rights and their standards as you ***. the boy scouts have rights too. go away. i am reporting any derogatory comments, little or small by those who want to bash someone for standing up for their rights

[liselle3]

Every once in a while I read these comments... it is predictable, every tragedy or issue turned into a political or religous mid-slinging session. Folks get a freaking life. Find some outlets for your anger and your feeling that your feelings matter and are relevant. Young boys tragically died, this isn''t about you as you seem to think it is.

[bretster7]

Codymac said,
Home schoolers claim that hey have access to these resources via various means. However, it is simply not possible that home schoolers, in genral, really have access to the full range of resources that a reasonably well funded school has, and to the extent that they do, they are cheating the system more by staying out of it but showing up to use one or another resource when it is convenient.



Maybe you should be reminded that the parents of homeschoolers pay the same taxes to support the public school system, but use verylittle of the resources.
Before you coment that the homeschoolers don''t have access to the resources, why don''t yoy do a little research on the subject and stop assuming.