As many have in the past few days, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood couldn't help but think about the Columbia disaster 20 years ago.
He was deployed to help search for debris that held that was scattered over at least 200 miles.
“It’s just a time to reflect. It’s a time to look at the work that we did as far as finding those black boxes so the space program could move on,” Hood told a KSAT reporter.
Working in Phoenix at the time, he was activated to lead an elite search team through dangerous terrain on the Texas-Louisiana border.
“I had a team of about 60 that were wildland firefighters that they had brought in,” Hood said adding that the cockpit and the boxes were somewhere in Hemphill, Texas, around and in the Sabine National Forest.
It wasn't a nice walk in the park by any means. There were about 1,000 others in the forest as well.
“We were cautioned when we got there of snakes, of hogs, of meth labs, of clandestine pot farms, of hunters, big mounds of fire ants, all kinds of bugs. So we were in a very dangerous environment."
They stood shoulder to shoulder for two weeks, wading through the dense forest and swampland for 10 to 12 hours a day. They slept on wood pallets raised from the wet ground.
“We did not have the technology back then of drones. We had helicopters, but we would actually have to go walk and see if there’s a broken branch or something that would indicate something fell. We had some members from the military there in case of any explosive devices. We had two NASA engineers assigned to each group because we were finding things. They determined what they were."
He said the sacrifice was worth it.
“Were able to locate the landing gear. There were pieces of clothing. There were engine components. We came upon one of the places where one of the astronauts perished, and there was like a little makeshift memorial,” the chief remembered.
Morale was rough at times, so it was important for the crews to see the bigger picture.
“Every evening, we would open up the warehouse area for tours so the search teams could see the progress because everybody shared in that success. If anything was found, it was a big deal for all of us.."
Another motivation came from NASA astronauts themselves.
“It was just austere conditions, so we’d have astronauts come in the evenings, and they would give motivational talks. If you found things as a team, they would give you shuttle pins or NASA pins. And so there was motivation."
Hood is proud that he was part of history. Those pins and a special NASA patch have taken a prominent place on a wall behind his desk.
“You wouldn’t see the things that have happened now that has helped all of mankind through being able to travel into space. I was honored to go, and I’m even more honored now."
