He stuffed towels under the door to the adjoining garage in the hope of stopping a sudden, unexpected flow of seawater, but the brine would not be denied. Defeated, Terry Schwinghammer retreated to the stairs leading to the family's living quarters, and there watched with alarm.

Rapidly, water covered the floor and then began inching up the walls. Staring through the glass-lined front door, he saw there was a similar but higher water rising on the exterior. Finally, the door gave way explosively and the in-rushing flood soon rose to eight feet. When it eventually began to subside, Schwinghammer’s Bonita Beach community, like others on Florida’s southwest Gulf Coast, where Hurricane Ian made landfall on September 28th, was in severe distress.

The tidal surge reached up to 15 feet and caught Schwinghammer, the Wiggins Pass Flotilla Commander, and most others by surprise since Hurricane Irma produced no such thing in 2017. But Ian leveled homes and businesses; tore off roofs and siding; piled fishing boats and pleasure craft into heaps; caused sections of bridges to collapse; filled entire neighborhoods with debris; shut down electrical and phone service; ripped open sewer and water lines; and devastated barrier islands including Ft. Myers Beach, Sanibel, and Pine.

Barry Denton, the Auxiliary's National Director of Public Affairs, who lives a few miles inland from Schwinghammer, said that even weeks after the storm the area "looks like a war zone ... I've never seen anything like it in the United States." That assessment was echoed by Keith Vanderbosch, Ft. Myers and Cape Coral Flotilla Commander, who said the damage along the coastal islands "looks like an atomic bomb went off" and that in some neighborhoods "there's nothing left standing."

Beyond the physical damage, there is the human toll. Early reports put the death count over 100, most of those by drowning. Fortunately, Ninth Division Commander David Schwartz reported that of the 420 Auxiliarists in his command's nine flotillas, no one suffered an injury, let alone a fatality.

But that's not to say Auxiliarists were untouched by the storm. Indeed, many, if not most, suffered some damage and loss, ranging from torn screens to the complete ruin of their homes. And yet, once able to bring a modicum of order to their space, many reached out to help neighbors, and still, others reported for duty.

The hurricane winds and surge had dumped copious amounts of foreign matter – cars, refrigerators, construction material, broken docks, etc. – into the area's waterways, posing a danger to any passing vessels. Moreover, the channel depths could have shifted, navigational aids displaced, and water made toxic with sewage, spilled fuel, and other contaminants.

While the Coast Guard could not prohibit recreational boating, it urged the Auxiliary to encourage boaters to remain ashore. Accordingly, teams of uniformed Auxiliarists from area flotillas spent days passing out informational flyers at boat launch sites detailing the potential hazards.

Meanwhile, some flotillas reported heavy water damage to their meeting and storage facilities, the loss of radios, towers, appliances, and gear, and a need for mold remediation. But even worse was what befell Coast Guard Station Ft. Myers Beach.

The old facility had been demolished in 2021 to make way for a new three-story building. In the interim, all contents and operations were transferred to temporary quarters at a nearby marina. But Hurricane Ian decimated the site, destroying or carrying away everything within – freezers, radios, computers, uniforms, bedding…everything. So, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency requested transport to assess conditions on a barrier island, there were no PFDs for the passengers. BM1 Diego Gonzales, an operations officer at the station and liaison to the Auxiliary, explained the shortage to Vanderbosch who quickly provided Flotilla PFDs so the inspection could proceed.

To continue its missions, the station was temporarily set up at a public park in Cape Coral with direct access to the waterfront. Since the facility was normally open to all, the Coast Guard needed help restricting entry. In addition, meals were to be supplied via a food trailer but additional help was needed to man the wheeled galley. The staffing solution? Auxiliarists volunteered to serve as gatekeepers for two daytime shifts daily, while Reservists handled the overnights. As for chowtime, a corps of Auxiliarist chefs led by J.R. Fellabaum of Flotilla Franklin Lock simply transferred their culinary skills to the park site and kept filling plates.

According to Mr. Denton, the response by the Auxiliary demonstrated "we have the ability to really make a difference," an observation with which BM1 Gonzales agrees. "I know how important the Auxiliary is to the Active Duty," he said, adding that was never more clear than when dealing with the hurricane's wrath. His assessment of the Auxiliary: "Awesome." Meanwhile, Schwinghammer, a self-proclaimed optimist, says his neighbors and fellow Auxiliarists proved themselves "quite amazing" in Ian's aftermath, giving him the confidence that "bigger and better" for the region is assured.

By William Garvey, Branch Assistant – Publications Support (A-DIR)

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Bonita Springs, Florida – Auxiliarists (L to R) Ellen DeLeo, Terry Schwinghammer, and Heidi LaQuadra pose proudly with some of the 28 bags they packed with hurricane debris outside the Wiggins Pass Flotilla meeting place on October 22, 2022. Photo By:  Auxiliarist Anthony Lorenc.

Cape Coral, Florida – Auxiliarist Walter Delevich on gate duty at Horton Park, Station Ft. Myers Beach’s temporary home after Hurricane Ian reigned havoc upon its more permanent quarters on September 28, 2022. Photo by: Auxiliarist Thomas Bamford.