BROOKVILLE, Pa. (EYT) – A Brookville native is involved in the rescue efforts in Texas after Hurricane Harvey hammered the Houston region earlier this week.
(Pictured above: Jettie Dush, Ryan Dush, Cris Dush, and Traci Dush.)
Ryan Dush, 32, formerly of Brookville and the son of Pa. Representative Cris Dush, is a Staff Sgt. and a para-rescue jumper in the 106th Rescue Wing in the Air National Guard based in Westhampton Beach near Long Island, New York.
According to a published article in newsday.com, about 141 members of the 106th were deployed to Texas to support rescue missions.
Military officials said National Guard members had rescued nearly 300 people by boat and helicopter as of Tuesday night.
National Guard members from Long Island deployed to Texas in response to Hurricane Harvey have rescued around 290 people by boat and helicopter, military officials said Tuesday evening.
In a state news release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, “New Yorkers are no strangers to the destruction that can come at the hands of Mother Nature, and we are prepared to continue to support these efforts in any way we can.”
The newsday.com article stated that Dush had been involved in the airlift rescues of an extended family of nine, including a one-month-old infant.
Dush said he led the family members from the second floor of a partially submerged house to the roof of a pickup truck where he strapped them into harnesses that hoisted them 60 feet up to the helicopter.
“It was still very emotional grabbing a baby. It was almost terrifying for myself as a new father,” said Dush, who has a one-year-old daughter.
Dush’s mother, Traci, couldn’t have been more proud.
“I’m very, very proud of him,” Traci said. “I’m very proud he got into a profession that puts others first.”
“Those people have lost everything in the blink of an eye, and it’s hard for us to fathom what they are going through.”
“They, and those working to help, need our prayers,” Traci said.
Dush is a 2004 Brookville Area High School graduate and a 2008 Westminster College grad.
“I’ve done plenty of combat rescues,” said Dush, who has also served in Afghanistan. “This was the first time I’d ever done something like this at home.”
Ryan’s unit has been operating primarily in West Houston and bringing those rescued to the George R. Brown Convention Center, which is serving as a shelter.
Ryan’s father, Cris, also has more than two decades in the armed forces. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1982 to 2000 and in the Pa. National Air Guard from 2000 to 2016.
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