Branson Ducks rescue hundreds of hurricane victims
Published: September 9, 2005
Six employees of Ride the Ducks returned Tuesday from helping rescue Hurricane Katrina victims.
Ride the Ducks is a Branson company that uses World War II-era amphibious vehicles for tours on land and in water.
Because of the vehicles’ unique abilities, they became a valuable tool in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s effort to help evacuate New Orleans residents trapped by high water. The two Ducks began helping on Friday and worked through Monday.
Bob McDowell, founder of Ride the Ducks, was among the six people who went to New Orleans. On Tuesday, he spoke of his experience, often fighting back tears.
“We went down and went right to work,” he said. “It was emotional; we saw a lot of things we weren’t necessarily prepared to see.”
McDowell said that on the first day, they were in St. Bernard Parish, east of New Orleans, then moved to Canal Street in the heart of the city. He said they helped between 300 and 500 victims still trapped in the hurricane-ravaged areas.
“People are afraid to get out of their houses because of the stories they’ve heard,” McDowell said.
Crew member James Sykes said it was the most frustrating aspect of their trip.
“We’d come up to people and try to coax them on the boat and they just wouldn’t come,” he said.
Danny Carlile was one of two mechanics on the trip. He said the water was very difficult to maneuver in.
“There was lots of debris,” he said. “You couldn’t see what was beneath the water. There were cars and trees under there and you couldn’t see them.”
He also found it hard to understand why people where afraid of help.
“We couldn’t force them to get into the boat even with offers of food and water and clean clothes,” he said.
Ride the Ducks General Manager Bob Montgomery said that if the Ducks are needed again, they’ll go, but said the rescue operation has reached a different level.
“They are at a different phase where they need to go out and extract the people from their homes,” he said.
Duck pilot Frank English said he would happily go back.
“We just have to rest and then wait for that phone call,” he said.
McDowell complimented the work that is going on in New Orleans, particularly from the water patrol crews that assisted them.
Montgomery was proud of his crew’s work.
“They had the impact we wanted them to have,” he said.
The entire crew consisted of McDowell, Carlile, English, Brian Ayres, Patrick Maupin and James Sykes.
The vehicle is technically called a DUKW. The “D” means the vehicle was built in 1942, the “U” indicates a utility or amphibious vehicle, the “K” means all-wheel-drive and the “W” means it has two powered rear axles. The McDowells sold the business last year to Herschend Family Entertainment. Ride the Ducks also has operations in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Memphis, Boston, Seattle and Stone Mountain, Ga.
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