In Hurricane Katrina's wake, twin babies were saved by a US Army leader. Now, they've woven his legacy into their futures - LocalNews8.com localnews8.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from localnews8.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Hampton, Georgia (CNN) — The milestone unfolding here this week would have seemed unfathomable in the chaos nearly 19 years ago, when the US Army lieutenant general with the booming
lost everything. nearly everything back in 2005, except what matters most. she gives the general credit for that. here is stephanie elum. i really owe this man my life. because the things he did for my children reporter: nearly a week after hurricane katrina hit new orleans in 2005, alexandria wheeler was at the end of her rope. we hadn t eaten in maybe six days. i ran out of formula and food for them. so they were really hanging on by a thread. reporter: after the levee broke flooding her neighborhood, she waded through the water with her 6 and a half month boys. i had one in the carrier in the front and one in the back. at one point something caught her foot. it was two bodies collided and they were full of water and they raised up to the top for me and lifting my leg up. by the time wheeler made it to the convention center, she and her boys were starving,
dehydrated and exhausted. that is when she first heard his voice. put them down. reporter: unarmed wheeler and a group had been stopped by the military. we re like, we re the vikes. what are you what are you pulling guns on us for. reporter: and then she saw the commander that ordered the guns lower. the general who led the military response after hurricane katrina and rita is lts the map wheeler credited with saving their lives. come on. reporter: it is a moment cnn captured as it happened. the general personal coming to her aid. what do you think what would have happened if you did not run into the general? we would have died. we would have there is no question. we would have died. hey, tiger. let s go. reporter: almost 12 years later, to the day, wheeler and her boys rode out hurricane harvey in houston. the city that became their home