Evacuee got to Baton Rouge on his own 2 feet

While tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors were in New Orleans waiting for help, George Stewart, an ex-Marine, said he set out on his own.

Before Katrina slammed New Orleans, his wife, Joyce, 55, and her sister Jennifer Larche, 54, fled the storm. But Stewart, 57, who waited until he could wait no more, walked from New Orleans to Baton Rouge � approximately 85 miles � on La. Highway 61 South, better known as Airline Highway.

"I had rode out storms before, but you couldn't ride this boy out," he said. "I put left in front of right and thank God I made it," Stewart said. "I had to make it, it wasn't no option. My instinct kicked in from military experience. It told me when you're in enemy territory, you keep moving until you feel safe."

During his military days in Vietnam, Stewart was equipped with gear camouflaged to throw off the enemy. But Hurricane Katrina had him wearing a different uniform. He weathered the storm wearing a pair of wind pants, a scruffy T-shirt and cross-training sneakers loaded with multiple pairs of socks.

"I didn't feel safe there," Stewart said. "It had too many people to die out there. If it wasn't for my military experience, I wouldn't have made it."

He said he walked through knee-deep filthy water as he left his home in the 7th Ward. All he had was $15, the clothes on his back and a backpack with a similar ensemble of what he was wearing.

Along the way he said he picked up three rides, shaving off only about 20 miles of his journey. He said a good Samaritan gave him one ride and he received the other two from police officers.

"This has shook me more than Vietnam," he said. "Because my family's close to this thing. In 'Nam, it was just me."

More than 30 years later, Stewart is alone again. But he hopes not for long. He wants to find his wife and sister-in-law. As far as he knows, they could both be as close as Baton Rouge or as far as Atlanta.

Stewart does not want to make anything of his journey. He said, right now his biggest need is money.

"One hundred dollars can carry me for a month," he said. "I eat once a day, military style."