SakshiMeant So Much
Throughout his military career and even after that, Maroney had that picture with him. When he got placed in Afghanistan, Iraq and any other place one thing that he never forgot to take with him was that photo. The photo helped him to overcome the PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) that soldiers usually undergo after coming back from a war zone.
The Search Begins
5 years went by and his urge to meet the girl increased manifold. He wanted to meet the girl and thank her for changing his life forever. First, he took to the social media websites where he put his story but unfortunately, he got no lead from there. The only thing he got in return was 42 likes. Thereafter he tweeted his story to Oprah only to get no reply.
Social Media Success
Despite initial failure, he continued trying. He explored all the avenues from using social media to post letters but nothing really helped. He got a ray of hope when he came across a page that worked in the direction of spreading awareness about the military work among the public. The page was run by Andrew Goard who was highly impressed by the work of army particularly pararescue during the hurricane. Andrew shared Maroney’s story on his Instagram page that had around 3000 followers. Though this small step did not help much but surely accelerated the process.
Going Viral
His campaign was spreading. Just like Andrew, many other people shared his story and soon the story reached the Air Force Times. The organization published his touching story that ultimately proved to be a bigger force that made it viral. His efforts finally had begun to bear fruit, but was it sufficient?
#FindKatrinaGirl
Maroney named his campaign “FindKatrinaGirl.” By now he and his campaign had reached a major part of the country and was continuing to sprawl. His campaign made another leap of success when a TV show producer decided to help him out. Finally, the cast of the TV show The Real brought the little girl to the light. After having her the show invited Maroney to meet the girl. Just like their first meeting, their second meeting too was going to be held before a camera.
Who Is Katrina Girl?
The girl was only three-year-old when the hurricane destroyed her hometown. The 10 years had gone by and the girl who had become 13 had matured a lot. No doubt, the producer had to strain his nerve to find out the girl but finally, he succeeded. The 13-year-old had just started going to high school and was residing in Mississippi. By the way, the actual name of “Katrina girl” was LeShay Brown.