Air Force medics help Katrina victims locate loved ones

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Nathan D. Broshear
  • 4th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
LOUIS ARMSTRONG NEW ORLEANS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, La. (AFPN) --  Searching through handwritten passenger manifests and scouring computer databases is not in the usual day’s work for Air Force medics. However, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, medics with the 4th Air Expeditionary Group are doing just that for families separated from loved ones airlifted from here.

At the height of the airlift effort, more than 800 patients were evacuated in a single day in conditions that oscillated between frenzied and outright chaotic.

Joel Hunt of Slidell, La., came searching for his mother, Miriam, on Sept. 8. His family knew that his mother had been taken by helicopter to the facility, but knew nothing of her whereabouts after her rescue. He had family photos printed on computer paper and a description of her medical conditions.

Mr. Hunt and his brother took a boat from Slidell to the edge of New Orleans before swimming about one mile into the city trying to locate their mother. But their mother had already been airlifted out of the home. Once they found out that Mrs. Hunt had been taken here, however, they knew she would be well cared for.

“When I got here, one of the techs said she remembered her, had helped her before she was airlifted out,” Mr. Hunt said. “Just for the nurses to have recognized her and the fact that they comforted her -- I know she’s safe no matter where she is. It’s the uncertainty of not knowing that is the toughest part … we have family all over the country who will drive and pick her up no matter where she is.”

Staff Sgt. Sonia Chavez, a health administrator technician with the 375th Medical Group from Scott Air Force Base, Ill., recognized the photo of Mrs. Hunt. After describing the hectic day to Mr. Hunt, she searched through handwritten passenger manifests to try and locate his mother -- no small task given that more than 2,700 people were medically evacuated by the 375th MDG.

Sergeant Chavez said that when Mrs. Hunt arrived at the airport she was dehydrated and missing vital medication. The medic gave Mrs. Hunt water and helped the 83-year-old grandmother to the bathroom.

According to Mr. Hunt, Sergeant Chavez and her team are “incredible professionals.”

“It means a lot to the families to know that our loved ones were cared for with such compassion,” he said.

Later in the day, Mr. Hunt got the news that he was waiting for: His mother was safe at a senior-living facility in Shreveport, La. He thanked the medical staff with a tearful hug before rushing north to the nursing home.

When he found out that Airmen were continuing relief operations by combing through records for families during downtime, Col. Larry Riddles, 4th Expeditionary Medical Squadron commander, was pleased.

“I was proud of our Airmen during the evacuation, but this is not just a testament to our single unit, but the character of (Airmen),” he said.

For Airmen like Sergeant Chavez, the experiences of the Hurricane Katrina airlift have made a lasting impression on her deployment to Louisiana.

“Reuniting these families makes everything worth it -- that’s what we came here for,” she said.