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A First Person Perspective
2nd Lt Alan Trombley, MN Wing March 28th 2009
Wednesday morning, March 25, after loading their
ever-ready emergency response gear into a CAP van, C/1st Lt
Nic Trombley and C/1st Lt David Chanski, adult CAP members
2d Lt Alan Trombley, 2d Lt Shane Hjulberg (Pictured above)
and Major Joel Stepanek headed north towards Fargo for three
days of disaster relief duties.
Click
on the thumbnail for a larger image
Arriving at Mission Base at Hector Int’l
Airport in Fargo, the North Hennepin Squadron group
immediately joined four other Minnesota CAP squadrons bound
for sandbagging in the southeast area of Fargo.
With the river already at extremely high levels, the entire
CAP group set to work unloading a cement truck full of 16
cubic yards sand, filling the sand bags and formed a line
passing the bags and placing them on an existing dike to
reinforce it against the steadily rising waters.
Cadet Trombley paid
attention to a mark on a garage, “I was watching the river
rise while we were putting sand bags in place, hoping the
150 plus people could help save this house. It is amazing to
see how so many people who do not even know each other will
come together to help out.” From the time we arrived until
the time we left 6 hours later we could see a dramatic
difference in the height of the river.
The roads were icy and covered with 3-4 inches of snow
making traveling difficult in the Fargo area. Our second day
included more of the same sandbagging efforts. Snow around
the houses impeded our efforts to effectively work so the
homeowner used his garden tractor with a snow blower to
forge paths as needed.
The rising river caused
difficulty in traveling also. With limited access to cross
the river and the closure of interstate ramps due to clay
dikes being built across them, it took 3 1/2 hours to go
from Fargo to Moorhead, MN where our billeting area was
located at Minnesota State University Moorhead.
After two long days of hard physical work of lifting,
carrying and passing sand bags Cadet Chanski said, “I had
dreams about lifting sand bags”.
Alan Trombley, 2nd Lt. CAP
North Hennepin Squadron, MN Wing
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