More than eleven years after she was photographed during a Hurricane Katrina rescue operation, a teenage girl has brought the US Air Force member who saved her to a school dance.

LaShay Brown, 14, is known as “Katrina Girl” for the picture of her as a three-year-old, smiling broadly, and hugging Master Sergeant Mike Maroney whose specialist team had rescued LaShay and her family from their flooded home in 2005.

Hurricane Katrina killed nearly 2,000 people, impacting almost 15 million others and causing more than of $150 billion (£121 billion) in damage.

The award-winning photograph became an iconic symbol of the rescue mission in the wake of the natural disaster and was featured on magazine covers.

Mr Maroney felt a bond with the girl in the photograph as he carried it around with him on deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, while dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from his years in the Air Force.

Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina A woman is carried out of flood waters after being trapped in her home in Orleans parish during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina A U.S. Coast Guard rescue boat carries US Army 82nd Airborne Division soldiers as it searches a flooded street in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina A SUV lies against a house and rubble in Biloxi, Mississippi as Hurricane Katrina hit USA, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina A plea for help appears on the roof of a home flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina People are taken ashore in a boat after being rescued from their homes in high water in the Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina struck in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina An aerial view of the flooding near downtown New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Houses are seen submerged under water in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Canal Street, in New Orleans, during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 Getty Images Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Debris from Hurricane Katrina piles up along a bridge in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Firefighters inspect damage left by Hurricane Katrina, in Biloxi, Mississippi, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina The Kids Quest (C) building sits in the middle of the route 90 next to the Grand Casino (L) 30 August 2005 in Gulfport, Mississippi, both damaged from the high wind and waves Hurricane Katrina, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina The most costly hurricane in history caused damages of $85bn. The category-3 storm formed over the Bahamas crossed Florida and the Gulf of Mexico before striking New Orleans AP Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina evacuees sit on their bed, on the floor of the Astrodome stadium in Houston, Texas, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina People search for their belongings among debris washed up on the beach in Biloxi, Mississppi, after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Parishioner Chloe Guice Wise (R) hugs Mark Washburn at the conclusion of services at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer (shown in background) which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, in Biloxi, Mississippi, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Stranded victims of Hurricane Katrina are taken ashore by Air Force National Guard soldiers in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina Fishing boats lay in a pile after Hurricane Katrina passed through in Empire, Louisiana, 2005 Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina U.S. Navy flight deck personnel take part in an emergency replenishment working party aboard the dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46), as they load water into an MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter in support of Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts in the Atlantic Ocean Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina A patriotic display can be seen in the ruins of a home in Waveland, Mississippi. Scenes like these dot the landscapes where homes once stood. Rescue and clean up efforts continued in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina three weeks after the deadly storm hit Hurricane Katrina - in pictures Hurricane Katrina A makeshift grave is seen for a woman on a downtown street in New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005

Two years ago he launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #FindKatrinaGirl and the two were reunited on the set of TV show “The Real” in September 2015.

Mr Maroney and LaShay have spoken weekly via phone and visited each other’s families since then, People reports.

She was motivated by Mr Maroney’s military service to join the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC), a programme sponsored by the US Armed Forces, at Bay High School in Waveland, Mississippi.

LaShay is set to bring Mr Maroney to her JROTC ball. He told People: "I’m going because I would do anything to repay the hug to LaShay and her family. They mean as much to me as my own."

He plans on retiring soon from the Air Force and says he wants to continue mentoring youth and training people for battlefield jobs.