--- title: "Air Force Pararescue Jumper reunites with girl he saved after Hurricane Katrina" date: "2018-04-02" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/air-force-pararescue-jumper-reunites-girl-saved-hurricane-katrina/" categories: - "Air Force" - "History" --- # Air Force Pararescue Jumper reunites with girl he saved after Hurricane Katrina ![]() When Master Sgt. Mike Maroney was a staff sergeant he rescued 3-year-old LeShay Brown a few days after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005. An Air Force Combat Photographer happened to be on the mission, and snapped a now-iconic photo. --- ![]() "They just happened to snap a photo of this little girl who really, for me, made the day. It was a rough day," Maroney told the cast of The Real, a nationally syndicated daytime talk show. "It was seven days into Katrina. Earlier in July, I just got back from a deployment to Afghanistan, it was my worst deployment. To see New Orleans under water and destroyed just really took a toll on me, so when she gave me that hug I wasn't even on the planet at that point." Maroney saved 140 people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but the memory of that hug stayed with him. Maroney, now 40 years old and a 19-year Air Force Veteran kept that photo on his wall for the past decade which he says helped him through a lot of dark times stemming from his service. He never knew that little girl's name. One day, he decided to find her and posted the photo on Facebook, hoping it would go viral. Someone reached out to Maroney after noticing the search for the girl had not gone very far. "I had the idea to put it on Facebook to see if anyone is looking for her," Maroney said. "It got 42 likes. Nothing. Up 'til last year, nothing. Then a young man named Andrew \[Goard\] wrote me and said, 'Hey, its my life's goal. I'm gonna help you find this little girl." Goard is a high school student in Waterford, Michigan whose grandfather served in Vietnam, and he idolized Pararescue Jumpers (he even has an [Instagram]() page devoted to them). He helped the hashtag [#FindKatrinaGirl]() go viral. The story was eventually picked up by Air Force Times and distributed around to smaller news outlets, until it ended up in front of LeShay Brown, who is now 13 and living in Waveland, Mississippi. "I wish I could explain to you how important your hug was," Maroney told LeShay Brown. "Your small gesture helped me through a dark phase. You rescued me more than I rescued you." ![]() "In my line of work, it doesn't usually turn out happily," Maroney said. "This hug, this moment, was like – everybody I've ever saved, that was the thank you." Watch the full reunion on [The Real](). ### NOW: [The definitive guide to U.S. Special Ops ]() ### OR: [1]()[0 incredible post-9/11 medics who risked their lives to save others ]() ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()