Many people are trying to deal with
their grief --survivors of the landslide,
families of the victims, rescuers and
even residents of the area

By Susan Kreifels
Star-Bulletin

Robert Cole Graham, 29, stays in his dead fiancee's apartment in California, grieving. Her voice lingers on phone messages she left from Hawaii before hiking Sacred Falls on Sunday.

Graham is angry -- at the state for allowing tourists into a place that could turn dangerous; at any gods that would allow this to happen; and at himself for not being there to save his beloved Jennifer Johnson.

Thousands of miles away, Cathleen Mattoon is grieving too. Her Hawaiian family has lived on the land near Sacred Falls for generations. She feels "tremendous guilt" that she may have failed to make things right with the sacred land, may in some way have been responsible for the unleashing of rocks that killed eight.

Meanwhile, Whitney Phillips, who is deaf, and her husband Russell visited local deaf and blind students yesterday to describe the terrifying rock slide they survived. The Salt Lake City newlyweds later laid a wreath at the entrance to Sacred Falls, and Whitney broke down crying. They feel blessed that they are alive but have a hard time putting into words their feelings for those who didn't survive.

As the deaths and gut-wrenching scenes of Sunday settle in on the survivors, the victims' families, the rescuers, and residents in the area, all involved are experiencing their own form of grief. Spiritual and medical counselors say even the toughest of them need to start talking through that grief, preferably with professionals. The sooner they do, the sooner they will heal.

"The main thing is not to shut down," said Cole Lew, a psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs. "Get help."

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Ted Phillips, left, comforted his son and daughter-in-law, Russell
and Whitney Phillips, who placed flowers and leis at the base of
the Sacred Falls sign yesterday in Hauula. Russell and Whitney
Phillips are newlyweds who survived Sunday's deadly landslide.
Whitney Phillips was released yesterday from the hospital.

Common stages of grief: shock, denial, guilt, anger and finally peace after talking through the experiences.

Signs of post-traumatic-stress disorder that can develop if help is not sought: irritability, anger, sleeping problems, flashbacks, inability to work or socialize and startled responses to noises or events.

The Rev. Mike Young, minister of the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu, said people involved in such traumatic experiences often seek explanations: maybe that God planned it or is punishing them.

"Nobody was picked," Young said. "The rocks fell where they fell. I'm not sure why human beings have such a hard time accepting that much of the universe works that way."

Let it out

Young said it's natural for people to shut down their feelings during a crisis so emotions won't interfere with the actions they must take. But Young said people must unleash the feelings once the crisis is over.

"Go ahead and experience the horrors," Young said. "Those emotional reactions are real."

Rescue workers who are trained for disasters know the value of talking it out quickly. Twenty-eight rescuers from the Honolulu Fire Department who were on the scene attended a critical incident stress management session yesterday.

Capt. Edward Hunter, who led the "guided discussions," said the program is based on mental health problems faced by Vietnam veterans. The program only started in recent years, and Hunter said older firefighters who missed out "carry the weight" of the horror much longer.

This program, Hunter said, "eases the pain and gets the healing going quicker. They'll never be able to leave it, but they can leave a good portion."

Mattoon said residents in the area as well as firemen, police and volunteers, also will get together to share their feelings Wednesday. "They are feeling a great deal of pain and sorrow. They are carrying a heavy burden," she said.

Native Hawaiian scholars and others will share with them the spirituality and history of the falls and help them decide the proper way to restore spiritual rightness, or "pono," to the land.

Mattoon said the community fought off attempts to build a resort at the falls 20 years ago, then helped form a plan for the state park. Part of the plan was educating people about the spirituality and culture of the area.

"I'm personally feeling tremendously guilty about not having been able to put this (education) in place," she said. "Most of our agencies and planners pay little attention to our culture."

The park is closed for now. Geologists say the rock slide area is still unstable and dangerous.

Lilikala Kameeleihiwa, director of the Center for Hawaiian Studies, said there should be no rush to reopen the park as the land "needs a rest, time to heal."

By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
After adding to the flowers placed in front of the Sacred Falls
sign, a couple spends a few quiet moments reflecting
on the catastrophe.

Kameeleihiwa has written a book about Kamapua'a, the god who native Hawaiians believe was born at Sacred Falls. She said whenever a disaster such as the rock slide occurs, Hawaiians assume something wrong was done to the land, such as allowing too many people to visit.

The Hawaiian scholar suggested more signs at entrances of parks on sacred sites explaining the history, culture and proper behavior expected from visitors. She doesn't believe tourists were targeted for destruction. "It could have happened to any of our children," she said.

Others in the community will also be looking at the disaster. Firefighters and rescue workers will evaluate their performance next week, said Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi. The rescue operation has raised questions about whether HFD crews should have been equipped with more advanced training and equipment.

Attilio said the Legislature passed a bill that would allow firefighters to be trained as emergency medical technicians, the next step above the basic life support qualifications they now have. Fire officials eventually want firefighters qualified as paramedics.

HFD did their best

Even if firefighters had more advanced medical training, Attilio said the procedures would have remained the same: Get the victims out of the danger zone as quickly as possible to treat them in a safer zone at the park entrance, where paramedics were waiting.

Dr. Geoff Scott of California, who was hiking at the falls and was the only doctor at the scene, agrees. Scott wishes rescue teams had been able to carry more advanced life support equipment but realizes the danger and rough terrain made that difficult. Yesterday he praised local rescue teams and Red Cross volunteers.

Scott has received praise for his own actions. But like others who helped in the rescue, he shuns any mention of heroism. And even one whose profession puts him in the middle of death and dying every day is having difficulty with his emotions.

"It's personally had more toll on me than I recognized at first."

Graham also is feeling the toll, even though he was thousands of miles away. Left with the four cats that were like the couple's children, he is trying to get the money to fly to Hawaii. He needs to see the Sacred Falls where Jennifer Johnson lost her life before he can feel any closure to his 7-year-relationship.

"I need to get there and talk to my baby on those rocks," he said. "I just want to see the last sight that she saw. I heard it was a beautiful place, a sacred ground."

The landslide’s victims The victim's of Sunday's landslide, left to right, top to bottom: Aaron Bann Bann, 31, was a property manager from Placentia, Calif. Relatives said he took the brunt of falling rocks to protect his wife, Cindy, 31. They have a daughter, who will be 2 in June. Bann had just earned a master's degree in business administration from Claremont College and was in Hawaii to celebrate with friends. Donna Forsch Forsch, 38, of Elk Grove, Calif., was celebrating her 10th wedding anniversary with her husband, Michael, in Hawaii, where they had honeymooned. The two had been college sweethearts at Sacramento State University. Donna reportedly was a saleswoman at a mall and Michael, who was injured, is a pharmaceutical salesman. Jennifer Johnson Johnson, 24, was the sister of Mark Johnson. She had flown in from West Hills, Calif., with her parents to attend his graduation ceremony. Scott T. Huling Huling, 36, was a senior master sergeant with the 15th Air Base Wing Security Force at Hickam Air Force Base. A 16-year veteran, he was the Air Force's top first sergeant in Hawaii in 1997. He was working on a bachelor's degree at Hawaii Pacific University. His wife and a son were hospitalized for injuries suffered in the landslide. Two other sons escaped with minor injuries. Sara Johnson Sara Johnson, 24, of Hayward, Calif., was a United Airlines air-frame mechanic who worked on Boeing 747s. Johnson -- not related to Mark and Jennifer Johnson -- was hiking at Sacred Falls with her boyfriend who, like her father, also is a United mechanic. Mark Johnson Johnson, 29, was newly discharged from the Navy, where he had been a petty officer and radioman at Barbers Point Naval Air Station. He expected to attend a Chaminade University graduation ceremony this week and receive a bachelor's degree with honors in history and political science. Teri Zerebeski Zerebeski, 42, was a psychiatric nurse from Sherwood Park, Alberta. She was vacationing with her husband and 7-year-old son, both of whom reportedly were injured in the landslide. "Her little boy was everything to her," neighbor Ellie Pauelsen told the Edmonton Journal newspaper. Danielle Williams Williams, 7, was the daughter of Staff Sgt. Anselmo Desaavedra of the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron at Wheeler Army Air Field. She was a student at Mokulele Elementary School. Her mother and 9-year-old brother were injured in the landslide.

3 still hospitalized

Of 13 surviving Sacred Falls victims hospitalized this week, all but three have been released.

Queen's Hospital initially had seven but now has one -- a woman, 50, who remains in fair condition.

The only others still confined are a man, 39, and woman, 31, at Kuakini Hospital. Both remain in guarded condition.

Two boys, 7 and 9, were released from Kapiolani Hospital; and Whitney Phillips, 21, of Salt Lake City, and Michael Heckman, 27, of El Granada, Calif., have been released from Castle Hospital.