MEMBER PROFILE – September 17, 2005

 Errol Henry is a News Cameraman for WHDH-TV and has been a member of the IBEW Local 1228 for nine years.  He recently returned from having spent a week witnessing the destruction of the Gulf coast along with reporter Phil Lipof. The following are some of his reminiscences.

              They (the WHDH news department) had been talking to the Coast Guard about doing a story on their humanitarian efforts in the South. We were told that if we could go with them as far as North Carolina and shoot a story on them – it would be good enough. The plan was to go with the Coast Guard to Norfolk, Virginia, to get a ride to North Carolina and fly commercial into Alabama the next day. Instead we were dropped off in Elizabeth City, N.C. and got stuck when we couldn’t find a cab that would take us to a commercial airport. We spent the night there and the next day some Coast Guard units from another base offered us two seats on their jet that was bringing supplies to the south. We (reporter Phil Lipof and I)  thought they were flying to Alabama, but half way into the flight we learned that their destination was Alexandria, Louisiana. They were delivering food, water, medical supplies and sixteen boat crews.

 Q.   What sort of gear did you bring with you?   

 A.     I was traveling light. I took a battery charger. 3 Brick camera batteries and the Edit flight pack. No tripod. And clothes for 4 days.  We landed in Alexandria, somewhere near the center of the state. It looked to be unaffected by the storm. We were 200 miles from Gulfport, Mississippi which is where we had originally hoped to get to. It turned out that a bridge had gotten wiped out by a loose barge and it caused a huge traffic tie-up. It was a blessing that we had been dropped off where we did.

 Q.    Did you rent a car?

 A.    Yes, we grabbed a car and went shopping in a department store. Spent over an hour getting needed supplies. We’re going camping so we need a lot of stuff. We need pillows. We need boots, flashlight, a blanket. We need food, perishables, gum, candy.  Things I need everyday, and I know will not be available where we’re going. You name it, we bought it. We don’t know how long we’re going to have to live like this. We went and bought a couple of gas tanks and filled them up, so now we have 10 extra gallons of gas.

           It took about 100 or 150 miles before we came upon the devastation. I tell you I have never seen anything like that. We drove into Slidell, just about 20 or 30 miles north of New Orleans, on Lake Ponchatrain….It shocked me to the bones. I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff in my time, but nothing prepared me for this. I was completely shocked by the level of devastation. Normal things like a mini-mall. Gone, Wiped out. Washed out. Like it was all sand blasted away. It looked like it had been like that for weeks and months, not just 2 or 3 days.

            We spent some time with a family around what had been their home – in a gated community. Homes that cost around 300 or 400 thousand dollars. In the deep south these were the equivalent of million dollar homes. Totally gone.  Debris and scraps. That’s all. 

            The places that we visited were Slidell, Gulfport, Waveland, Long Beach and finally Biloxi. This is where we went. Waveland was the most devastated, the most affected community that I saw. We didn’t get into New Orleans, which was under water, but in Waveland, it was something else.  Not one working police car or fire truck. Everything out of business. It’s the wild, wild west. Everyone is carrying a gun. Everybody is drinking. It’s hot. Over 90 degrees and high humidity. Every day. The sun was poison.

 Q. What were the attitudes of the people you met?

 A. Being from the north, I had heard of southern hospitality, but never experienced it for myself. I have to tell you it’s very real. Everyone kept offering us whatever they had. Water, food. Unlike some of our cops up here, the police we ran into were the friendliest bunch you could ask for. They pulled up to ask “ How are you doing?” I was totally surprised. “ How am I doing?” The question is “How are you? How are you getting by every day?” He said, “Man, I’m dog-tired. Been working for 24 hours now. I was able to get my family to Atlanta and now my kids are enrolled in school there. I’m here. The house is gone and I just have to stay here to keep the peace.” They’re scared too. There were four of them in the police car, working together. They were afraid of the looters. Everyone with a gun. At night it’s the wild, wild west.

We met one fellow in Waveland. He had lived across the street from City Hall and had owned a business there, on Coleman St. All leveled. Not one building is left there. Total devastation. Rubble everywhere. As you roll down the street I got some amazing pictures of it. People came to me and said “what a wonderful job you did.” But I tell them that the devastation was everywhere. No matter where you pointed the camera you were sure to get amazing pictures. 

 Q. How did the other TV crews cope with the situation?

 A. We worked with NBC newschannel. Each of their crews had an RV assigned to them for support. The live truck operator, the cameraman, talent and producers had the RV available to them.  We all worked closely together in a compound, campout type community. In some cases we parked our vehicles – like circling the wagons, for protection.

 Q. Did you see any looters yourself?

 A. No, I didn’t, but I did run into others who had captured and arrested looters. One guy we interviewed had arrested 16 looters. His family owned 3 houses on the ocean, which they rented out. These houses wound up being moved more than 2 blocks from where they had stood. You could see them. He also showed me a large U-Haul truck – a big, full-sized truck that had been parked in his driveway. It is now several blocks away. The water just washed it away.

 Q. Did you try to get into New Orleans?

 A. No, we decided not to. We could have driven in, but we were chasing stories that kept us going to other places. We found out about a Rescue crew from Massachusetts -  Task Force One. They were working in Waveland, so we headed there to shoot a story on them. They explained to us how they did the house to house searches. We had noticed that many of the homes that had survived had X’s or other signs written on them. These signs referred to when they had been searched, by whom they had been searched and what was found in them. If any bodies had been found, and what sort of hazards existed there. So now we knew how to read those signs.

We went on a rescue mission with them. They had these huge Ford F-350 trucks. The mud was everywhere and up to 3 feet high. Thank God we bought those boots when we first arrived. The boots reached up to the knee, while the mud was up to the calves. This mud was awful, it did not come off. Red clay. Mix it with water and it’s like cement. Nasty stuff everywhere. Lots of snakes. We were right on the Bayou. And these were water moccasins – very dangerous. Don’t pitch your sleeping bag in the grass   - do it on the sidewalk where you can see the snakes coming.

 Q. How did you get your food and other supplies?

 A. If you went 100 miles in either direction  - you’re good. What you did was to load up and then when you run low you make another run for supplies. The networks would call for ice deliveries. They would come and everyone filled up their coolers with ice.

 Q. What about all those poor people who had no cars or money to get stuff? Did you see many of those people?

 A. Absolutely, every day. Everywhere. Up north everyone asks – “Why didn’t they evacuate before the hurricane hit?” But these folks are the equivalent of the refugees we’ve seen on TV from around the world. They have no money – nothing. I gave some of them money, out of my own pocket. I felt bad for them. There were so many stories that touched me. We shot one story about a guy going through the rubble of his house. He had been rich, but now I’m shooting him quietly going through the debris looking for what’s left of his possessions. It was the way that he was going about it. Silently, somberly. You look at this and begin to cry.

           One guy in Waveland had a sign in front of his place that said ‘You loot   - we shoot!’ He’s wearing his gun. I approached this guy. Now I’m a black guy in the deep south, coming up to a frustrated white guy with a gun. His place is all rubble, and we begin to talk to him. The nicest guy you can imagine. He’s trying to save what little he has left. He looks right into the lens and says, “ whatever you see on TV     - it’s a lot worse. I just want it all back to normal.” My lips were quivering. He said he didn’t want to carry a gun but had no choice. At night, there are no lights. People come in to grab what they can – silverware, china, goblets and other stuff from that rubble. That’s what they want, but it’s all he has – nothing else. What are you going to do?  The whole town is gone. I just don’t think people understand the magnitude of the devastation there. Nothing is functioning. Where are you going to go?

 Q. What kind of impact did all this have on you?

 A. I think that my skin is 3 inches deeper. It’s going to take a lot to bother me.   If the people that I saw there can be so hospitable after all they’ve been through. They say “I’m lucky that I came out of this with my life. – I have absolutely nothing left, but I think that I’m lucky.” If they can say that….. then what’s a bad day for me? 

I saw so much in those six days. What an experience. Nobody wanted to go on this trip. They all said I was crazy. Now that I came back they all say “wow”.