American ingenuity aided miner rescue All 33 miners safely ascended from the bowels of the Earth where they had been trapped for more than two months in a Chilean gold and silver mine. Their ordeal started an unprecedented 68 days ago when an access tunnel where they worked caved in. For 17 days, the world didn't know whether these men were even alive until rescue workers were able to poke a little camera down to the mine's depths, proving that all 33 had successfully traveled seven miles of treacherous tunnels to the mine's shelter. That they survived being crushed to death is a miracle. In the beginning, rescuers believed it would take four months, maybe even up to Christmastime, before they could reach them. Facing prolonged rescue efforts because of either lack of expertise or inadequate resources, every possible amenity to keep the trapped men comfortable, healthy and well-fed was sent down to them through a six-inch-wide hole - food, medicine, a special lighting system to simulate natural light, and games and music to keep them occupied and their spirits up. Now, how to get them out from nearly 3,000 feet below the earth's surface? Ever vigilant, families and friends set up Camp Hope at the mine site to wait - and wait they did, for days on end, while rescuers searched for answers and the right equipment. Then, an American, Jeff Hart, a contractor from Denver, stepped in and offered rescuers, the trapped miners and their families the first promise that their ordeal might soon be over. At the time, Hart was in Afghanistan drilling water wells for the U.S. Army. Once he arrived at the mine, he would spend days operating the drill and heeding the feel under his feet until he discovered just the right spot to open an escape hole. Hart, heralded as a hero, isn't the only American involved in the rescue operation. NASA experts went to Chile to suggest design requirements for the rescue capsule, and the agency also sent medical doctors and a psychologist to advise treatment methods for people who have been confined in a small space for a long time. Because the miners may have difficulty adjusting to normal light, an American company has donated special glasses - at $450 each - for the miners to wear when they emerge from the shaft. The greatest medical and psychological care has been arranged for the men when they arrive, one by one, back on top. Though many countries besides the United States have been involved in this rescue operation, the joy the Chileans looked forward to as the rescue began Tuesday night might never have been if it weren't for the ingenuity of one American man.