Lieutenant General Russell Honoré

Commander

Two days after the hurricane struck, help arrived-in person of U.S. Army lieutenant general Russel Honeré.

“[Bush] sent one John Wayne dude down here that can get some stuff done,” said a grateful New Orleans mayor, C. Ray Nagin.

“And he came off the doggone chopper and he started cussing, and people started moving.” Honeré, the Louisiana-bred three-star who was born literally during a Gulf Coast hurricane, in 1947 was put in charge of Joint Task Force Katrina. He wasn’t interested in playing the so-called blame game. Instead he filled a leadership vacuum, cutting through red tape, mobilizing search-and-rescue crews, and helping to provide food and water to people in need – all while coordinating with the National Guard and state and federal agencies.

– Vanity Fair, November 2005

Photographed with Captain Scott G. Trahan outside the World Trade Center of New Orleans on September 13, 2005