LV man set for hard task

Friday, Sept. 14, 2001 | 10:32 a.m.

Las Vegan Jerry Meardy last was in New York 18 years ago, where he took in a ballgame at Yankee Stadium and visited the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

Meardy, a volunteer for the Southern Nevada chapter of the American Red Cross, was to return today to a New York City where the Yankees haven't played since Tuesday and where the World Trade Center no longer stands.

Meardy, 67, has committed to a three-week hardship assignment, coordinating the feeding and sleeping quarters of rescue workers at the ruins of what were the fifth and sixth tallest buildings in the world before Tuesday's suicide planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers.

"I'm probably not ready," Meardy said of what he expects to find in the disaster area, noting that no one could prepare for such carnage. "I broke down when I first started doing this, but I've become better -- a little bit more professional. I've been moved by what I have seen on TV. I just have to keep a stiff upper lip.

"I was 8 years old when Pearl Harbor was attacked, and I remember how it affected me and the adults around me."

For six years Meardy has represented the local Red Cross as a volunteer trained at the highest level for emergency situations. This summer he coordinated shelter and emergency relief efforts in Baton Rouge, La., and Houston, following Tropical Storm Allison, and in West Virginia after severe flooding.

In December he spent two weeks in Little Rock, Ark., helping people cope with the aftermath of three severe ice storms.

But even Meardy's bosses admit he has taken on a particularly tough job this time.

"We call these "hardship" assignments because of the anticipated extreme emotional and physical stress and trauma the volunteers will face," said Cathy Tisdale, chief executive officer of the Southern Nevada American Red Cross chapter. "There is far less rescue than retrieval."

Meardy is one of about 700 American Red Cross volunteers nationwide to go to New York this week and help with efforts to save those who may be trapped in the rubble of the twin towers.

"If we are told to prepare meals for several thousand people, we set up an operation to do just that," Meardy said of his role over the next few weeks. "We are trained to organize quickly and hit the ground running."

In 1995 Meardy, growing weary of a retirement he spent gambling in local casinos and playing golf, decided to dedicate himself to helping victims of major disasters through the Red Cross. He attended training classes and, in December of that year, made his first trip to help flooding victims in Seattle.

His travels have taken him from coast to coast and to Puerto Rico. A single man, Meardy often is away from Las Vegas far more often than he is at home, making five to nine trips a year to the most devastated communities in the nation.

And, yes, Meardy gets tremendous satisfaction out of being one of the many heroes of disaster aftermaths, and he urges others who feel so inclined to volunteer through the Red Cross to help victims.