Storm Wrecks Memorial, Inspires Another

BILOXI, Miss. – Plans are taking shape from the broken wreckage of a memorial of one hurricane with a remembrance of two storms – including the one that destroyed the original monument.
The Jackson, Miss. Clarion-Ledger reports a new effort is underway to replace a local memorial to the 131 Mississippians killed by Hurricane Camille in 1969, and also recognize the still-uncounted dead from this year’s Hurricane Katrina, which wrecked the original monument in late August.
The storm cracked the black-marble tablets at the Camille memorial, situated along U.S. 90, which included the etched names of the dead from 36 years ago. The previous monument, costing $100,000, finally took shape in 2001 after years of fundraising.
The Clarion-Ledger notes that local funeral director Jeff O’Keefe is initiating the new effort for a Katrina memorial. While it’s still in the initial stages, O’Keefe hopes to create a monument similar to the one for Camille, including the names of the dead from this year’s powerful storm and a reference to the Camille tragedy.
O’Keefe would offer land for the memorial at a cemetery he owns, where many of the local unknown victims of Katrina will likely be buried. The death toll in Mississippi from the storm stood at 220, with 37 bodies found locally still to be identified.
The original Camille monument still draws people after Katrina’s destruction, according to the Clarion-Ledger, although several of the black-marble tablets are broken and dislodged. The memorial had been the site of an annual service on the date of Camille’s landing – Aug. 17, less than two weeks before Katrina’s arrival.