General Honore honors St. Aug Grads

Monday, June 26, 2006
By Leslie Williams
The charismatic Army lieutenant general who helped guide Louisianians out of the chaos of Hurricane Katrina returned Sunday to New Orleans to point the way for St. Augustine High School's graduates.

"It doesn't matter where you start," Lt. Gen. Russel Honore said to more than 170 young men in purple caps and gowns gathered in St. Louis Cathedral for the 52nd commencement of the all-boys school. "It's where you end the race."

Observing that many of the graduates who survived Hurricanes Katrina and Rita looked "sad," Honore -- a graduate of a small segregated high school in New Roads and one of 12 children reared on a 40-acre subsistence farm -- urged the boys not to dwell on the past and to look toward a future of opportunities.


"Your parents in the '50s and '60s were singing songs, 'We Shall Overcome,' " Honore said. "You have overcome."

St. Augustine's students were scattered in August when flooding after Katrina heavily damaged the campus, closing the school for the first time since its founding in 1951.

St. Aug students who were able to return to New Orleans attended classes at the combined MAX school, housed on the campus of Xavier Preparatory in New Orleans. Sunday's ceremony reunited and honored the St. Augustine senior class, whether the students attended the MAX school or high schools elsewhere.

Honore, who was picked by President Bush to lead Joint Task Force Katrina, held a command that included more than 20,000 active-duty troops from all military branches devoted to the storm-recovery operation in a three-state region. He endeared himself to frustrated storm victims with his take-charge attitude and no-nonsense style.

Honore encouraged the boys to consider careers in public service: law enforcement, firefighting, the armed forces, the priesthood or elected office.

"Community life is something greater than you. You have that choice, " he said. He took a moment to recognize others in public service: the students' teachers, who were asked to stand.

The graduates -- including valedictorian David Gray; salutatorian David Reed; class speaker Darin James; and Ernest Ancar, recognized for four years of perfect attendance -- will have another choice, Honore cautioned.

Soon, there will be a fork in the road, he said.

On one road, "it'll look very smooth. It has a lot more bright lights and the right music you want to hear. It's nothing but fun."

On the other road, "it's kinda dull. It's kinda bumpy and it's uphill."

"That's the road," he said, "that'll get you to your next degree."