By Jessica Stasiw
Editor, In Military Education
Since Michael Maroney began his latest social mission, the online world has been abuzz with hope and helping hands for the potential reunion. Around this time each year for the past 10 years, he’s been looking for the bright spot from his rescue efforts after Hurricane Katrina, this little girl. No, he doesn’t know her name, but her smile and resilience in the face of such tragedy and loss, along with this image, were enough to tie her to his memory. She was only about three or four at the time.
We all remember the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. Many had to restore not only their homes, but they had to rebuild their lives as well. For Maroney, saving the little girl and her family that day made a permanent impression on his life. Her smile and perseverance, even after seeing her home and school underwater, were uplifting to him. His search for her has spanned over the past decade, and each year around the same time, he puts up the same photo with the same plea, to help him locate the girl that brought light to such a dark event.
What will happen if there’s a reunion?
Maroney knows one thing for sure, and it is that it will start off with a hug for her and her mother. A fellow rescuer was reunited with a girl he saved from the event. At the age of 19, she also joined the military to aide in rescue efforts, because she wanted to do for others what Maroney’s friend had done for her. He is also hoping to start a campaign to raise money for her college fund. He believes that young people need mentors, as well as an education.
Read the full article at AMU’s In Military Education blog.
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