CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A Fort Campbell soldier, Sgt. Christopher Rousse, and his wife, Heather, along with a few friends are collecting and loading up emergency supplies to take them to his hometown in Louisiana to help in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

“Once the hurricane hit, I saw the damages and what it did, and I just had to go down there,” Rousse said.

Rousse added that their plans are to leave Friday morning and head to the town of Cut Off, Louisiana, in Lafourche Parish.

He’s taking his 1-ton pickup truck and will be pulling a 4-by-8 foot trailer, carrying as many supplies as he can haul. “It sure would be more help if I had a bigger trailer and we could fit more, but we have enough room for what we have right now,” Rousse said.

Rousse said they collected cases of water and canned goods.

“Gasoline is a big help to the community down there because most of the gas stations are shut down,” Rousse said.

“We have family down there, and we’ve lived through Katrina and other hurricanes. We know how devastating it can be to not have running water, or electricity, or food, or any of that. Our heart goes out to them because that’s where my wife and I are from in southeastern Louisiana,” he said.

Rousse serves with the 2-17 Cavalry Squadron, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell.