Ex-marine remembers Hurricane Katrina and rescuing his neighbours

John Keller was in his apartment in downtown New Orleans the day after Hurricane Katrina's storm. Soon, his building was surrounded by water, leaving residents stranded. As the water rose, so did tensions inside the building, as a mix of refugees and would-be looters sought sanctuary. The ex-marine could have easily fled to safety on his own. Instead, he chose to stay and look after more than 200 people, many of them sick and elderly. Keller spoke with Day 6 from New Orleans about his experience and how it continues to affect him to this day.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Brent Bambury: John - good morning and welcome to Day 6.

John Keller: Good morning, thanks for having me.

BB: Take me back to 2005 when Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans. At what point did you realize that this is an emergency and it's serious?

JK: Right when they started telling me the levee had started to fill, that's when I knew this was serious. At first when I looked out the window I couldn't see the levee had filled, but I live at the end of the bayou, and once the levee started reaching upstream, like a tsunami the water came down by the bayou and started going right over the bridges, and jumped the banks and started pushing cars down the streets and flooded the city. I live in the middle of the city, so all the water is rushing to the middle. And then when I called my mom the night of the storm, she said the roof is being ripped off, and then the phone went dead. So when the city filled up I got a kayak and I had a plaque that was given to me from a special forces unit in the Marine Corps. So I took the ribbons and medals off of it and that was my oar. Then I paddled from mid-city to Crowder, which was nine miles from here.

BB: And that was when you first understood how complete the devastation of the city was.

JK: Yes, I was able to paddle and see the whole city. I paddled to the Superdome, I paddled to the 9th Ward - I went basically everywhere and it was pretty bad. I got to the 9th Ward and I saw babies and old people in the water. So, it was pretty horrific.

BB: You must've been worried about your mother.

JK: Oh for sure. I was worried about my mom, though I knew she could probably fend for herself. I was really worried about my grandmother, because I knew my mom could save herself but she couldn't save my grandmother too.

BB: What did you find when you got to her house?

JK: Nothing, thank God. I didn't find any bodies floating in the house, so I figured someone must have rescued them. So I went back to my house.

BB: John you're a powerful person. You're physically strong, physically imposing, and you're an ex-marine. You could have left your apartment building. What made you decide to stay there and take charge?

JK: A rough element had come into the building, and when I saw how they were treating the elderly and how they were pushing the older people around, I thought we had to stop this. I went up to a guy who was on the roof screaming and hollering and asked what the problem was. He said "that white b-tch needs to keep my name out of her mouth". And so I said, "hey man, the white people didn't do this to us. They're stuck just like we are." So he said, "I don't give a damn about these people and I don't care about anybody who lives here." That's when it got a little physical, and I made my point. Once I got control of that, all the old white people on the roof were like, "John's the man!" Basically, I said a prayer to God, and thought of my grandmother trapped on someone's roof. If I take care of all these old people up here, God will make sure someone takes care of my grandmother. And that's what made me stay.

BB: You served in Iraq. Even though it was an extreme situation and potentially lethal all the time, there was a supply chain in Iraq that functioned, that kept you from going hungry and that kept you with supplies and ammunition. How did you feel about the way that authorities were dealing with the crisis in the American city where you live?

JK: Well they had a helicopter land on the high ground from the building I live in, and when I said, "Hey man what are your orders?" he said his orders were to rescue the hospitals and the hotels. So I asked what about the citizens in the city, but he said they hadn't got that order yet. And I was like, "what?", and he said it sounded crazy to them too, but they had their orders. So I said, "I have a building full of elderly people here, and they got one more day or they're about to die. So if I get them here, will you get them out of here? Because you don't know who is from the hospitals or hotels because you're not from around here." He looked at me and said, "I didn't hear that, but if you get them here, I will get them out."     

BB: So you had to get the sick people onto the roof of your building?

JK: Yeah - so all of the race relations had to go out the window. I had to get all these guys to carry all of the old people up to the roof. Once we carried the elderly to the roof at five in the morning, the coastal helicopter started to come in and landed on the roof. But I guess the helicopter was too heavy, and it started sinking into the roof. So I told the guy: "Hey man, the helicopter is getting ready to go through the roof." So he lifted it off the roof, and at that point he had to drop the basket and pluck people off the roof one at a time. And we had 244 people in the building. I said to my cousin, "Chris, this is going to take forever." There was a parking lot on top of the building behind the building I live in, and they had boats and RVs and trucks. So I told the cop who asked how we could get out of here, "I can get us out of here. I am going to swim on top of that building and hot-wire two boats. He said, "You sure?' and I said "Yeah, but I don't want to be shot in the back in the process". And he pulled his gun out of his holster and said, "Come on, no one is shooting each other." So he kayaked to the roof and I swam behind the kayak. So I hot-wired two boats and I wound up getting 244 people out of the building.

BB: If I was a desperate person stranded in New Orleans and I saw someone with a boat, I would probably want to try and take it from you. Did that happen?

JK: Yeah - that happened. But you know, after going to Iraq, I just prevailed in that moment. The guy wanted me to give up my boat, and I told him I had 45 reasons why he couldn't have my boat. And he said he had an AK and he could. But I told him I don't miss. Shots were fired as I hit the throttle to get out of there. I didn't look back to see what happened, but I'm sure I didn't miss. I'm here today.

BB: John you helped a lot of people in 2005. When you look back at what happened 10 years ago, what did this experience do for you?

JK: It did a lot for me. It let me see what I am and what I am made of. And I guess I knew I could do all that stuff, I had a time where you have to fly everything you have learned in your whole life.

BB: You used those skills when you were serving your country in Iraq. How is this different from what you did in Iraq?

JK: I didn't have armies of people shooting at me. It was 129 degrees. And I can swim. I was trapped in the city, but I was never trapped in Katrina. I could always have gotten out when I wanted to get out. I stayed because I wanted to help the people. But I could have hot-wired some boats and got myself out, or got in a kayak and paddled out. I had already paddled nine miles to my mom's, it was only seven miles in the other direction to high ground. So with this whole experience, I had two choices. I could have hot-wired a boat, got my ass out of dodge and left the people to their own fate. But I would never have been able to look myself in the mirror and live at peace. I would have been cursed instead of blessed like I am now. I would have never been able to live with myself. I used to live with guilt after coming back from Iraq; I had a lot of guilt. But I don't have as much guilt anymore.     

BB: Does your experience living through Katrina and helping so many people, does that help you deal with what happened to you when you were serving your country in Iraq?

JK: Yes, I hurt so many people when I was in Iraq, and I guess I am just trying to get back into heaven. I'm just trying to fix all of the wrongs I have done. My mom never raised me to go hunt people. And some of the things that happened in Iraq bother me, a lot. I have PTSD. It's hard, it's hard.

BB: John there are a lot of people in New Orleans who will never forget what you did 10 years ago.

JK: It's truly humbling, it truly is. When I listen to the interviews of the people who were saved in the building, it's like being at your funeral. And listening to people getting up and talking about what they think about you, it's just truly humbling. When you are at your worst, you tend to become your best.

BB: John Keller, it was an honor to meet you. Thank you for talking to us.

JK: Thank you.