Day two: 1140th gets first views of destruction

BELLE CHASE NAVAL AIR STATION, La. -- Louisiana introduced the tragedy slowly to its new visitors Friday, preparing them for Hurricane Katrina's inevitable worst.

As the eight units of the Missouri Army National Guard, including the Cape Girardeau-based 1140th Engineer Battalion, rolled deeper into Louisiana, Hurricane Katrina's devastation became increasingly apparent.

One hundred miles inland, a few toppled trees foreshadowed the destruction to come. A few miles further on, a handful of downed billboards decorated the roadside. Finally, after several military checkpoints, the passengers in the 27-vehicle convoy caught their first glimpse of New Orleans' horizon.

They were greeted with the pungent smell of human waste that forced normally strong-stomached soldiers to cover their mouths and noses.

The images were as bad as the ones you've seen on television, maybe worse. People had hauled their lives to the curb. Furniture, TVs and other debris cluttered the streets.

Some residents sat on the side of the road waving tiredly to the line of military Hummers, Blazers, flatbed trucks and large dump trucks.

"We kill looters!" screamed a hand-made sign on the front of an abandoned gas station. At another, soldiers stood guard with M-16s.

"Welcome home gentlemen," said one soldier.

The soldiers of the 1140th didn't make it into the city limits of New Orleans, but they saw heavily damaged suburbs. Buildings were crunched, roofs had been blown away, and trash was piled 6 feet high or more.

Image after image of ruin greeted the soldiers as they watched from their windows.

"As you go further in, you can tell there's a lot more destruction," said Sgt. William Hoxworth, a heavy-equipment operator from Cape Girardeau. "To tell you the truth, I just watched it and let it sink in. It wasn't easy to watch."

Still, Hoxworth said, it's what they're here for.

"When we're done, hopefully their lives are better," he said. "We want to help them get it cleaned up so they can restore their lives. Their lives are on hold."

Spc. Jodi VanGennip is a 22-year-old medic from Cape Girardeau. She said she was surprised so many people are still here despite orders to leave.

"There's bacteria and disease here," she said. "What made these people want to stay? It looks like they've lost everything."

Capt. Damon LaCour, 35, of Kansas City is a battalion communications officer. He was moved by the sight of a couple grilling outside their roofless house.

"They stuck it out," he said. "I know they were told to leave, but it's their home, their business. It's hard to leave that."

He said he feels sorry for the people in southern Louisiana.

"How can you see this and not feel sympathy for them?" he said.

The soldiers slept on cots in the middle of a deserted runway Friday night. Today, after two days of travel, they'll get started on their mission: Cleaning up the mess Katrina left behind.

smoyers@semissourian.com

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