When Hurricane Harvey struck Texas on August 25, 2017 it left the state and its citizens devastated. People lost their homes and their lives. Rescue teams went to work saving people from the rising flood waters.
Missouri State alumnus, Loyal Auterson, ’08, captured those moments on camera while his battalion rescued people in Texas.
“It was already dark outside, I think it was around 9 p.m. when I saw Command Sgt. Maj. Judd Moosa, the highest ranking sergeant, adjusting the seat belt of this elderly lady who had just been rescued from a flooded nursing home. She was one of the last to be helped at the nursing home in Port Arthur, Conroe Texas,” Auterson said.
While Hurricane Harvey did not hit Missouri, Auterson still saw parts of his home state in the people of Texas.
“It was inspirational to see how the people of Texas took care of each other the way they do in the Ozarks,” Auterson said.
7th Battalion (General Support Aviation Battalion) 158th Aviation Regiment, escorts a mother and her child off
of a U.S. Army Reserve aeromedical evacuation (MEDEVAC) Helicopter
Missouri State a public affairs mission
Auterson graduated from Missouri State with two degrees: one in art and design and the other in religious studies. After graduation, he enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in December. He is now the mobile production battalion team chief for public affairs.
He always enjoyed taking photos as a child. His professors at Missouri State helped shape his passion.
“John K. Wall and Alan Brown saw the core of what was raw in my photos and began to mentor and shape it,” Loyal said. “Alan inspired me to study French photographer, Henri Cartier Bresson. His work taught me to align my spiritual side with the universe to sense the right time, because it’s intuition that captures the defining moment, and the defining moment is beautiful.”
Not only did the professors inspire him, but Missouri State’s public affairs mission also influenced his future.
“I joined the army because while I was too old to join the ROTC here, I absorbed the deep conviction of what being an alum of Missouri State meant; to be a productive citizen and give back to communities because of the three pillars,” said Auterson.
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This is a wonderful and I am happy to say I have known Loyal Auterson all his life and I am proud for his comment men to to be of service and assistance to others. His parents are our friends since the late sixties or early 70’s as we served a missionaries in Ethiopia. I see in Loyal this same early training to make a difference in our World.