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Twenty years later, WDSU continues to tell stories of resilience, loss and rebirth. We have a lot of locals here at WDSU — people who were working here during the storm or living here.WDSU investigative reporter Aubry Killion spoke with his family about their journey through Hurricane Katrina.See the story in the video aboveAubry Killion interviewed his parents in the home they rebuilt. After sitting down for the interview, Killion found something his family hadn’t seen in nearly 20 years: camcorder video of their home shot after Katrina."Most of this stuff is ruined. Hey, there is your christening outfit," his father, Charles Killion, is heard saying on the video. "Mold, mildew throughout. Bathrooms — everything turned upside down.""There is mold up every wall to the ceiling," his mother says on the video.The video shows Aubry’s family seeing their flooded home for the first time in 2005. It serves as a dark reminder of where their story begins. "My dad died that Friday," Val Killion said. "We were making funeral arrangements for my father, Dr. Fred Wild, and you had a football game to cheer at that Friday night."Aubry was a junior at Brother Martin High School. That Friday night, Aubry’s sister came down the steps of Tad Gormley Stadium to deliver the news.Aubry asked his parents during the interview: "How did you both mentally cope with having four kids? Grandpa is dead, and a hurricane’s headed our way?""I think the basic rule of thumb is: OK, we have a problem, we’re going to deal with it, and either get on the train or get out of the way," Charles Killion said."You compartmentalize and you delegated as best you could. I have never, ever evacuated for a storm," Val Killion said.Video above: 20-year-old camcorder video shows New Orleans reporter's Katrina-damaged homeAubry’s dad works in health care and stayed in town for Katrina. He urged his family to evacuate."When we evacuated, it was our four children, the dog. And then my son’s oldest son’s college roommate shows up. So we all left together," Val Killion said."Our family offered to take you guys. We said no — everybody stays together," Charles Killion said.Aubry asked, "Dad, you stayed for Katrina. What do you remember?""Some of the nurses that were with us at the hospital before we physically evacuated staff and patients, they came up to me one day and said, ‘Charles, are we going to die today?’ I said, ‘No, we’re going to be fine.’ You know, it worked," Charles Killion said.For about a week, Aubry didn’t know where his dad was. Aubry went to school in Houston; eventually, they reunited as a family. It was time to return to Lakeview to see what was left."There were some National Guard. I am looking at him like, please let us in Orleans Parish. And he turned around and looked the other way. So we darted across, climbed over the train tracks, broke into the house," Val Killion said. "Think if your house went through a washing machine and a dryer. It was hot as blazes. Everything was wet, muddy, very dark."Their muddy, dark home was new for Aubry and his family. They had just moved in and hadn’t even unpacked."So this house had, of course, about 6 to 7 feet of water in it, depending on where you stood," Charles Killion said."Why was my mother’s fondue pot on the wall unit in here? Why was the sofa from this room in the den?" Val Killion said."The refrigerator went through the ceiling. It floated up," Charles Killion said. "We thought we might be able to save a piano, but as soon as we picked it up, it just was in pieces. And so that was the end of that.""Your childhood pictures are pretty much gone," Val Killion said.So much was gone, but they made it work.Aubry attended school on the Northshore. The family worked every weekend on their home to rebuild. Brother Martin eventually reopened. Aubry’s mom called them the Killion Krewe.His family — and the rest of the city — were determined to find normalcy and something they missed."We were living in a FEMA trailer — where are we going to put our throws?" Val Killion said, jokingly.Carnival was coming, but could New Orleans make Mardi Gras happen? Val spoke in front of the New Orleans City Council."I told this story and said when we were leaving, my son — meaning you — had his latest Harry Potter book, and I mentioned there’s a character who was a phoenix," she said. "It’s a beautiful firebird, a phoenix, and it goes up in flames, and all that’s left is a pile of ashes. But what comes out of those ashes is this beautiful rebirth with the phoenix. So let New Orleans do that. This is what we do. And they did — we did."Carnival coming back gave them hope."It chokes me up," Charles Killion said. "You have people out there on ladders, waiting to see this great parade, and they didn’t have to fix sheetrock.""It was a good release, a sense of normalcy," Val Killion said. "It took us a year and a day to get back in the house. We gave y’all a nickel a nail."Aubry noted in the interview: "I think the life lessons that I learned during Katrina I apply at WDSU — to work through hard times and to relate to people who’ve been through something hard. As we reflect 20 years later, he asked what his parents would want people to know most?""This is home. Don’t forget. Don’t forget," Val and Charles Killion said. "Have a plan."