Frater Survives Japan Quake, Walks 20 Hours to find Girlfriend

KUJI, Japan - Frater and Franklin College graduate Zach Branham (Rho-Upsilon) moved to Japan last summer to teach English. He was in Kuji, a town a few hours north of Tokyo, when the quake measured at 8.9 on the Richter Scale hit. Frater Branham made it through the quake but had no idea if his girlfriend Georgia, who was at a coastal town four miles away, also survived. Determined to locate her, Branham traveled by foot for 20 hours through impassable roads until he finally found his girlfriend.

His parents, John and Terri Whitcomb, said Friday was easily the worst day of their lives. When John heard about the quake, Whitcomb said he immediately realized that's exactly where his son was.

"I ran and said, 'Honey we've got to start praying,'" he said.

The tsunami hit Kuji, knocking out all communication. On Friday, the frantic parents called, sent texts and Facebook messages to their son, desperate to hear from him. Then they heard through a Facebook group that Zach was Okay.

Hear the full story from his interview with CNN.

The Offices of the Grand Chapter sends heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Frater Zach and all the victims of this devastating quake.

Adapted from news on Indianapolis' WISH-TV and CNN. Be sure to follow the latest TKE News with the RSS Feed, on Twitter or the official TKE Facebook Fan Page (Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity). Submit your news today.

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