By Jack M. Willis
Journal Correspondent

When Royce Taylor graduated from Georgetown High School in Grant Parish in the spring of 2001, little did he realize at that time, how his life and life style would change so radically in just four short years.

Upon completing high school, Royce did like a lot of young red-blooded American lads and began acquiring a skill, in his case, that of an apprentice carpenter. He eventually got married and acquired a family and noted immediately that the carpentry trade had its feasts and famines, and he had need of a steady income. Royce applied to the Louisiana Department of Corrections in Baton Rouge, hoping to be hired at a correctional facility at Simms in Grant Parish.

Shortly after appliying, he was summoned to take the battery of civil service tests, and was soon hired as a guard at the Dabadie Correctional Facility adjacent to Camp Beauregard near Kingsville, Louisiana.

While working various shifts at the prison facility, he came in contact with various National Guard personnel stationed or employed at Camp Beauregard. He noted that some of them were taking college courses, or attending technical schools, with Uncle Sam footing the bill.

He was not exactly a novice when it came to a military lifestyle, because his grandfather had made a career out of the U.S. Air Force. So he understood the ramifications of going military. Besides, the beginning pay for correctional system employees was not all that great without a college degree, and his thin pocketbook led him to serious consideration of a military career.

After several sessions with recruiting officers, and several heart-felt discussions with his wife, Royce signed on the dotted line and took the step forward in taking the military oath.

He was still employed at the prison complex when he received notification from the Department of Defense to report for Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina on December 9, 2004. He completed Basic Training on June 3, and reported the next day for Advanced Individual Training. Upon completion of A.I.T. on August 27, 2005 he was assigned to the 773rd Military Police Battalion, 2228 M.P. Company stationed at Camp Beauregard.

Two days later the proverbial roof fell in on Royce and his fellow M.P. comrades. Hurricane Katrina was bearing down on the Louisiana coast, threatening the New Orleans area. They were activated and ordered as first responders to the crisis, since there had been no viable response from the Mayor and other city officials which were to have been the first line of defense.

Private Taylor's unit of the M.P. Company went into New Orleans on August 27th, 2005. The rest of the group, including Taylor, arrived on the 29th, the day when Katrina began coming ashore.

Taylor's Company went directly to the Louisiana Super Dome to enforce security and crowd control. Contrary to reports on national television by New Orleans police Chief Eddie Compass, that babies wee being raped and evacuees were stepping over corpses in the Dome, Taylor stated that he never saw any incidents resembling the vivid descriptions of chaos and violence continually reported by national media representatives. Taylor said in the approximately five days he spent in the Dome, he witnessed only one attack on a member of the military. It was quickly addressed and the attacker was arrested.

Taylor also stated that contrary to media reports, food and water was hauled in and dispersed to the displaced citizens from the first day they arrived at the shelter, as ordered by Mayor Ray Nagin. Private Taylor said the biggest problems that the National Guard Unit encountered was sanitation, lack of running water and heat. Even though there were an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 evacuees in the Super Dome, food and water was served three times a day from three distribution points set up and maintained by the National Guard. Two were located on the arena floor of the Super Dome and another was set up on the second level of the immense structure.

When conditions inside the Dome became so deplorable, the M.P. Unit moved the food and water points to the entrance ramp outside the Dome. This repositioning of the distribution points made it much easier on the logistics of offloading the food and water for dispersal to the displaced citizens.

Taylor said that the M.P. Unit's duties were primarily supplying the crowd of distressed people with food and water. He said that some of the Louisiana Air National Guard set up dispersal points on Thursday before his Unit arrived on Friday.

Relief by active duty military personnel arrived on September 2nd, with the M.P. Company, which was under the supervision of the Louisiana National Guard officers until September 3, when they were merged with federal forces to form one task force. This was a much appreciated by the men already on duty, because some personnel were putting in 22 hour days.

Only after the Super Dome was totally evacuated on September 5th, did the M.P. Company transfer to take up further duties at the New Orleans Convention Center, where they added support to troops already on the scene distributing food, water, security and aide to the evacuees.

Private Taylor said that days began to run together and most of the troops lost track of time because of the stressful situation they were in. The massive numbers of people in such a confined environment caused deterioration of sanitation and bathroom discipline, and any site in the Center became a personal outdoor latrine.

When the Convention Center was finally totally evacuated on September 12th, the M.P.'s were assigned to Gillis Long National Guard Center at nearby Carville, Louisiana for much needed rest and recreation. They were finally able to take a hot shower, instead of the make-shift ones that hadn't really done the job on their approximately 15 days of intense active duty.

In addition to enjoying lengthy hot showers, they were able to do laundry and receive inoculations in case of exposure to communicable diseases while on duty in New Orleans. The too brief, much needed R & R was only temporary, with the Unit returning to Camp Beauregard at Pineville to allow the men a 48-hour leave at home, and to restock their supplies. The M.P. Company had only carried enough uniforms to last five days on their initial assignment, so the abbreviated stint at home gave them a welcome opportunity to obtain more fresh clothing.

Upon arriving back in the New Orleans area, Private Taylor's M.P. Company was assigned to the Gretna Police Department for support operations, and he remained there until around October 1st when he was allowed to return home and resume his duties with the La. Department of Corrections. However he stated that his company is remained officially under the command of the U.S. Department of Defense until October 17th, and rumor has it that their federal jurisdictional command may be extended until February 28th, 2006.

Private Taylor stated that in one respect, the news media were totally correct in reporting that the whole ordeal was absolute chaos. Many evacuees stated repeatedly in conversations held with the M.P.'s in the line of duty, that they were aware of what destruction the onslaught of the "perfect storm" could bring, but the stark horror of the event didn't materialize until the storm's fury was unleashed upon the populace.

Private Taylor said that his M.P. Unit did everything possible under the most adverse conditions to provide aid and comfort to the thousands of evacuees cloistered in the Super Dome and the Convention Center, and he vigorously stated that he was very proud of his comrades for their valiant support for humanity.

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