Brig Gen Mark Graham

Brig. Gen. Mark A. Graham, a 1977 Murray State University alumnus who is now deputy commanding general of Fifth U.S. Army in San Antonio , Texas , was recently honored with the Defense Meritorious Service and Humanitarian Service medals for his efforts directing the largest military evacuation during the Katrina devastation in New Orleans .

The leader of a rescue effort he calls “Americans Helping Americans,” Graham led the evacuation of the Superdome and other gathering points that included the I-10 Causeway and the Convention Center under the direction of Gen. Russel Honore’s assigned command.

Only a day into his new job as commanding general, Graham flew to New Orleans and met with Honore and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco. After meeting with officials, Honore ordered Graham to, “evacuate the City of New Orleans and the greater New Orleans area.”

Graham and 24 other military personnel who were also traveling from Fort Sill , Okla. , assisted with these efforts by ushering 65,000 people in three days out of the city on ground, air, water and rail transportation. “We moved these people in 72 hours through mostly commercial and school buses,” he said. “It was very sad, I’ve never seen anything like this. There were television crews everywhere and they weren’t able to capture the real devastation from their cameras. There was just no way a television camera could describe this. You really needed to be there to see it.”

Working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other state agencies, Graham worked with numerous other military professionals to get approximately 25,000 people out of the Superdome. “The evacuation happened real fast,” he said. “At a rate of 40 people per commercial bus, the evacuation was maintained on a steady basis.”

Through visuals obtained through satellite imagery, Graham was able to determine a route to get the buses in and out. Immediately after the Superdome evacuation, Graham assisted with the convention center evacuation. “Buses were lined up and we evacuated 10,000 people from the center in 12 hours,” Graham said. “I responded numerous times to the people we helped, ‘We are America ’s Army and we’re your Army.’ ”

After the clean-up efforts, Graham was then transferred to work a different Katrina mission from the USS Iwo Jima on-site New Orleans headquarters and then transferred again to Austin, Texas, when Hurricane Rita began moving in. “I saw President Bush at different times in New Orleans and then in Texas ,” Graham said. “He recognized me in Texas and said, ‘didn’t I just see you back in Louisiana , I bet you’re ready for hurricane season to be over.’ ”

Graham said his college days spent at Murray laid the foundation for a military career. Graham said Darrel McFerron, former MSU ROTC director and also an MSU military science professor from 1982-84, is the reason he decided to continue with the program. “I had actually decided not to continue MSU’s ROTC program,” Graham said. “However, after I received a telephone call from McFerron he persuaded me to continue on in the program.”

McFerron said he knew Graham was a prime candidate for a military career. “I knew he would do well when he went on active duty,” McFerron said.

McFerron and his wife, Karin, were also a part of Graham’s life when he became engaged to fellow MSU student, Carol Shroat. “Karin hosted social events for the military fiancées once they became engaged to explain the social protocol of military wives. Carol was able to take part of this.”

Graham said it is going to take time for the city to recover from the devastation it has suffered. “The city’s income is based on sales tax generated from revenue within the city,” he said. “There’s not a whole lot of selling going on right now—especially when you’ve got 20 story buildings with every window blown out of one whole side. This takes time to renovate.”

Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant while at MSU, Graham has served in several capacities with the military prior to his current position including chief of staff, assistant commandant, and deputy commanding general at the Fort Sill U.S. Army Field Artillery Center. He was promoted to his current rank in February 2005.

Graham’s awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, two Legion of Merit awards, the Bronze Star Medal, six Meritorious Service medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, five Army Commendation medals, and the Army Achievement Medal.

Graham and his wife have three children, Jeff and Kevin, both deceased, and Melanie, 21.

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From left: Rear Admiral Joseph F. Kilkenny, commander of all Naval Froces supporting Katrina, Graham,

and Brig. Gen. Harold W. Moulton, II, director of standing Joint Force Headquarters North,

during a Katrina meeting on the USS Iwo Jima on-site New Orleans Headquarters.