Rising from rural Louisiana to the nation’s most visible disaster response commander, Russel L. Honoré became a symbol of decisive leadership during Hurricane Katrina—and a lasting voice for national preparedness.
Russel L. Honoré was born in 1947 in Lakeland, Louisiana—during a hurricane. The circumstances of his birth would later feel almost prophetic. Raised by farmer parents Lloyd Honoré and Eudell St. Armant Honoré, he grew up as one of twelve children in a working-class household rooted in discipline, faith, and perseverance.
Honoré became the first in his family to attend college when he enrolled at Southern University in Baton Rouge. Majoring in vocational agriculture, his initial goal was modest: to become a dairy farmer. But participation in the university’s Army ROTC program altered his trajectory. Commissioned as an Army officer, Honoré entered active duty in 1971—beginning a military career that would span nearly four decades.
