Staff Sgt. Kevin Wilson, a member of the Oregon National Guard who had been serving in New Orleans to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is back home.
Wilson, who lives in White Salmon, got a free ticket out of New Orleans to continue his schooling.
"Everybody who had been enrolled in school has come back," Wilson explained. "The Guard is pretty good at making sure soldiers continue their education. They want educated people, and worked hard at getting us out."
Wilson, who was flown to the New Orleans area with the 162nd Infantry, spent nearly three weeks on duty there in the wake of the hurricane.
Wilson's unit, on duty in an area south of the famed French Quarter of New Orleans, was engaged in search and rescue missions as well as providing security.
Wilson said a typical day of work entailed patrolling in hip waders or in boats, helping people they encountered, and checking houses to make sure there were no human remains.
"Our brigade rescued 769 individuals," Wilson said. "There were people trapped in attics, and people trapped in houses because the door jams were swollen and they couldn't get out. There were a lot of animals that needed to be rescued, too."
Wilson added that the recovery of the dead had not yet been completed, and said there was no way to know how long the recovery would go on.
"It takes a long time to search all the houses," Wilson explained. "Thank God there were a lot fewer dead than they were predicting."
Because of the toxicity of the contaminated floodwater in the area, the houses in the district were not salvageable.
"Every bit of it is going to have to go," Wilson explained. "It's toxic for human habitation. There is mold inside the walls and on the walls, and six to 18 inches of sludge oil on the ground."
When the troops worked the night shift, security was the main assignment: making sure there was no looting going on, and making sure no thugs were roaming the streets.
"I think we accomplished that mission. It's probably the safest city in the United States right now," Wilson pointed out. "There are more law enforcement officers and soldiers there than you can shake a stick at."
Wilson added that the citizens of the region were very grateful the National Guard had come to help.
"People down there were generally surprised to find out we were from Oregon," he said. "They were kind of shocked but pleased people from Oregon came down to help out. They couldn't thank us enough."
Wilson, who came back from a 14-month tour of duty in Iraq in April 2004, said the conditions he saw in New Orleans were worse than anything he witnessed in Iraq.
"I've never seen that kind of devastation," he explained. "Man can be fairly destructive, but the power of Mother Nature is just unreal. The closest thing I can think of is the 1950s nuclear test films of the mock cities they blew up in the Nevada desert. We saw houses crushed, boats on top of houses, roofs ripped off, huge oak trees just snapped off like toothpicks. Iraq was a lot cleaner, and smelled better, too."
Wilson explained that the smell in New Orleans -- from decaying human and animal remains, from rotting food, from sewage, and from oil and chemicals -- was all but unbearable.
"When we first got off the bus, we really had to suppress the gag reflex. It smelled that bad," he said.
Although he is back and ready to return to school, Wilson knows that there are no guarantees he won't be called out again.
"I was told to be ready to go. I could get called again," he said. "I want to finish my degree, but the needs of the nation and the needs of our citizens come first."
Other local Guardsmen from Wilson's unit, including White Salmon residents Matt Carlock and Mark Fuwell, remained on duty in Louisiana. However, Wilson reported that they were temporarily evacuated from New Orleans when Hurricane Rita started bearing down on the area.
"They pulled them out; moved them farther inland to get out of the way," Wilson said. "As soon as they're able, they'll go right back in."
Wilson, a student at Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles, is hoping to graduate with his associate in arts degree by the end of winter term 2006.
"I'd like to teach history, economics, or math. I made the Dean's List and finally achieved a 4.0 grade point average," he said.
Despite the devastation and heartbreak left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Wilson said he sees one silver lining in the disaster.
"It's neat when people across the country start working together," he explained. "That's a positive thing, but it's sad it takes a natural disaster. When this country pulls together, there isn't anything we can't accomplish."
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