Hooyah! The Wild Boars soccer team successfully rescued.

Hooyah! indeed to the Thai Navy SEAL which anchored the rescue of twelve young boys and their coach--the Wild Boars soccer team-- from around 2.5 miles deep in the bowels of the Tham Luang cave.

'Hooyah' originated from the US Navy SEAL, its exclamatory word for a job well done or a successful operation.

The team entered the cave, some sort of initiation, with the intent of scrawling their names on the cave walls on 23 June 2018. It's the monsoon season in Thailand, and when the waters started to fill up, they could no longer get out and they had to seek higher grounds. They ended up deep inside Tham Luang.

"Operation Bring Wild Boars Home has been completed last night," the Thai Navy SEAL posted in their Facebook page on 11 July. "It's an operation the world will never forget!"

The rescue was an international effort, in many ways, and involved many characters.

The Thai Navy SEAL expressed great appreciation for "the help from all teams--divers from all over the world, medic teams, several ex-SEALs, supporting teams, Kruba Boonchum and other spiritual teams, great kitchen team, oxygen refueling team, water management team, electricity team, mountain climbing team, all generators, Mae Sai people, and people from all corners of the world."

The SEAL summed it up as "the united force of humanity at work."

This was best illustrated by the cartoon that was shared through the SEAL FB page:

Rescue operations cartoon. (Source: Thai Navy Seals FB page)

The animal figures stood for the different people who played significant roles in the rescue operations: white elephant - Governor Narongsak; wild boars - the children and coach; white horse - all heroes involved in the mission; seal - the Thai Navy SEAL; frog - all world-class divers; lion - rescuers from England; kangaroo - rescuers from Australia; panda - rescuers from China; crane - rescuers from Japan; moose - rescuers from Sweden; tiger - rescuers from Myanmar; brown elephant - rescuers from Laos; dog - K9 unit; martin - climbers from Libong Thailand; eagle - rescuers from USA; iron man - Elon Musk; birds - media; and of course, there is a crow - the nasty comments from people or some obstacles along the way.

Speaking of media attention, the operation was keenly observed by Las Ultimas Noticias (LUN) of Santiago, Chile. They had a similar rescue operation a few years ago when they rescued miners trapped inside a coal mine that collapsed.

The LUN magazine had this graphical rendition of the rescue procedure in their 09 July 2018 issue:

Rescue mission. (Source: Las Ultunas Noticias. 09 July 2018)

While there were tears of joy when the team has all been brought out of the cave, there were also 'bittersweet' tears of grief for Thailand and Dr. Richard Harris, who stayed with the boys throughout and was one of the last to get out.

Saman Gunan, former Thai Navy SEAL, who volunteered for the mission, died on duty when he was helping lay out rescue lines along the flooded cave tunnels.

Australian Dr. Richard Harris came out of the cave to learn that his father died on 01 July while he was assisting the boys inside.

The last four Thai Navy SEAL that got out.
(Source: Thai Navy SEAL Facebook page)

The Thai Navy SEALS kept the world fully informed of the operations with pictures and videos. There were no details of the procedures, 'mysterious,' someone said in the social media, but we came to see the faces of the boys when and after they were found, read their letters (in translation) to their parents, witness the ambulances and helicopters bringing the boys to the hospital, and finally, scenes of the families looking through glass walls at their sons beaming in quarantine at their hospital room.

The Wild Boars. (Source: Metro, UK from the iinternet)

CNN gave us the names of the Wild Boars team:

• Peerapat Sompeangjai, who turned 16 when they went missing;
• Ponchai Khamluang, 16, goes to Ban Pa Yang School;
• Pipat Bhodi,15, like Peerapat has his birthday on 23 June, goes to Ban San Sai School;
• Prajak Sutham,15, had his birthday inside the cave on 01 July, and is in 8th grade at Mae Sai Prasitsart School;
• Ardoon Sam-aon, 14, is in the 8th grade at Ban Wiang Phan School. 
• Akarat Wongsukchan, 14, studies at Darunratwitthaya School;
• Natthawut Takumsong, 14, is in 8th grade at Mae Sai Prasitsart school; 
• Mongkol Boonpiam, 13, is in 7th grade at Ban Pa Muat School;
• Panumas Saeng-Dee, 13, attends Mae Sai Prasitsart;
• Duangphet Promthep, 13, attends Mae Sai Prasitsart; 
• Somjai Jaiwong, 13, attends Mae Sai Prasitsart;
• Chanin Viboonrungruang, 11, is the youngest in the team and is in his last year at Anubanmaesai primary school in Mae Sai. He was the one who wrote his parents that when he gets out, he'd love to go eat fried chicken at the local KFC.
• Ekkapol Ake Chanthawong, 25, coach, is popularly called Ake, was the last of the team pulled out.

These are very interesting vignettes about the Ardoon and coach Ekkapol:

Ardoon Sam-aon was "born in neighboring Myanmar, he was taken into care by the local Mae Sai Grace Church group when he was seven years old. ... he's a good student, he earns a GPA of 3.94 out of 4.00. He's also a good athlete, his favorite sports are soccer and volley ball." 

He is a stateless person, a refugee in Thailand. He was the only one who could speak English, and thus served as interpreter for the team with the rescuers. 

Ekkapol Ake Chantawong, the boys' coach, is described by the community as being"devoted to his young charges, and often took them for long bike rides in the hills.... He loves the football team [and] wherever he goes, he always has some of the kids with him. Their parents trust him that he can take of their sons."

Opovo, a news magazine in Fortaleza, Brazil, in its 11 July 2018 cover said that the rescue operation which mobilized and sensibilized the world was a 'story with a happy ending"