SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- When the EF-5 twister struck Joplin last May, there was no communication in the disaster zone. Land lines, cell phones and the internet were out, leaving thousands of people who needed assistance in the dark. On Thursday, the American Red Cross honored two men who coordinated the relief efforts for the first 48 hours -- all by amateur radio.
“When it hit, we could not use our cell phones. We could not get through to anyone," said Chris Harmon with the Red Cross.
The people trained to work in disasters were at a standstill. While they’re small pieces of equipment, amateur radios were the only form of communication that worked.
“We knew we were a valuable resource, and we wanted to do our part," said Bill Gilmore.
Gilmore and Ken Baremore are trained to work with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. For several hours, they coordinated relief efforts all via radio.
“It was hard to comprehend. I'd never been involved with anything as big as this. This was just awful," said Gilmore.
They played a key role is setting up the Red Cross Shelter on the Missouri Southern State University campus, all while working here in Springfield.
“Without them, there probably would have been a lot of duplication, resources not showing up, people going hungry, people not knowing what was going on in the first minutes after the tornado,” said Greg Gains with the Red Cross.
In a stroke of good timing, a new radio tower was set up at the Red Cross’ office in Springfield in late April, just a few weeks before the tornado.
The two men say they were just doing their job.
“There was a need. We practice for that need,” said Baremore.
If you are interested in getting involved with the amateur radio group, they have monthly meetings at the Red Cross.
