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"Wooo. It's about time you got back to earning an honest living. If you think I'm going to say it's a pleasure to be here, forget it. Hi boss. George, nice to see you. I spent a lot of your money. Well, what did you do, buy up all the control heads in Houston? This far away from supplies, you get all the spares you can. This is Colonel Valdez Chance. He's in charge of keeping us from getting shot. Well, I hope you do a good job, Colonel. If I do not, you will have my profound apologies. (Laughter) The longer you guys stand there, the longer it's going to take to unload this thing. Right Joe…"
VOICE ONE:
In nineteen eighty-eight, Adair fought what was possibly the world's worst off-shore accident. It was at the Piper Alpha drilling structure in the North Sea. Occidental Petroleum operated the structure off the coast of Scotland. The structure produced oil and gas from twenty-four wells.
One hundred sixty-seven men were killed when the structure exploded after a gas leak. Red Adair had to stop the fires and cap the wells. He faced winds blowing more than one hundred twenty kilometers an hour, and ocean waves at least twenty meters high.
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VOICE TWO:
In March of nineteen ninety-one, Red Adair went to Kuwait following the Persian Gulf War. He and his crews were called in to help put out fires set by the Iraqi army as it fled from coalition forces. But Adair faced serious problems in putting out the fires. In June, he flew to Washington, D.C. to talk to government officials about those problems. He told congressional lawmakers that he needed more water and more equipment. He also described his concerns about medical services for his men, and the buried landmines throughout Kuwait.
VOICE ONE:
Adair also met with then-President George H.W. Bush. President Bush listened to his concerns and offered his support. Within weeks, Adair had the equipment he needed to complete the job.
The Red Adair Company capped more than one hundred wells. His crews were among twenty-seven teams from sixteen countries called in to fight the fires. The crews' efforts put out about seven hundred Kuwaiti fires. Their efforts saved millions of barrels of oil. Some experts say the operation also helped prevent an environmental tragedy.
The job had been expected to take three to five years. However, it was completed in just eight months. In a ceremony, the Emir of Kuwait extinguished the last burning well on November sixth, nineteen ninety-one.
In addition to Kuwait, Adair and his men carried out sixteen other jobs that year. They worked in India, Venezuela, Nigeria, the Gulf of Mexico and the United States.
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VOICE TWO:
Red Adair had spent his seventy-sixth birthday in Kuwait working side by side with his crew. When asked when he might retire, he told reporters: "Retire? I do not know what that word means. As long as a man is able to work, and he is productive out there and he feels good – keep at it."
Still, Red Adair finally did retire in nineteen ninety-four. At that time, he joked about where he would end up when he died. He said he hoped to be in Heaven. But he said this about Hell: "I have made a deal with the devil. He said he is going to give me an air-conditioned place when I go down there – if I go there – so I won't put all the fires out."
VOICE ONE:
Red Adair died in two thousand four. He was eighty-nine years old. At his funeral, many family members and friends honored him by wearing red clothes. Many Americans remember Red Adair for his bravery. He lived his life on the edge of danger. He was known for his willingness to risk his own life to save others.
During his life, Adair received Special Letters of Recognition from Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush. One of the letters said this: "You have served your country well by your willingness to do a dangerous and important job with a rare ability. In an age said to be without heroes, you are an authentic hero."
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VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Jill Moss. It was produced by Lawan Davis. This is Faith Lapidus.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for People in America in VOA Special English.
