Considering the climate—the war in Iraq had just begun and terrorist alerts were everywhere—the appearance of two Air National Guard helicopters on campus might have seemed cause for alarm. But this was a mission of mercy.
Early on the afternoon of March 19, a pair of Pave Hawk helicopters landed at Roble Field to deliver three elderly patients for medical treatment at Stanford Hospital. The patients had been plucked from the Statendam, a Holland America cruise ship on its way to Enseñada, Mexico, after they suffered heart ailments. According to Col. Ed Lewis, the choppers left nearby Moffett Field at 4 a.m. and traveled more than 500 nautical miles out to the ship. Refueled in the air by accompanying airplanes, the camouflage helicopters, which were too large for the hospital helipad, touched down at Roble about 2:30 p.m., immediately attracting a crowd of students.
Resident fellows and students had been alerted that the aircraft were coming, so their arrival wasn’t too distressing. Senior Chris Lynskey didn’t get the word. He looked out his window in Lagunita Court, “saw that big gun” and wondered whether a military operation was under way, he told Stanford Report.
