Photo By Sgt. Ann Knudson | Spc. Kory Twardoski, a member of the 818th Engineer Company, Williston, checks a...... read more read more
DICKINSON, N.D. — On Wednesday, July 8, shortly after 8 p.m., an EF3 tornado hit Dickinson, south of the Heart River. It tore up over one hundred buildings. The Breakforth Bible Church on South Main collapsed, and dozens of buildings had their roofs damaged or torn completely off. Many trees were knocked over. Lines went down. Miraculously, or perhaps because of Weather Service warnings, nobody died, and only minor injuries were reported.
"Through the whole week they talked about how severe it would be. People were gearing up," said Spc. Kory Twardoski, Dickinson, a member of the 818th Engineer Company, Williston.
The 816th Engineer Company (Horizontal), said Dickinson, responded immediately to the storm's damage, with shelter, traffic control and patrols.
The Red Cross opened a shelter at the armory, and about 15 people occupied it. By Friday, the shelter had been moved to the Hillside Baptist Church, which had more room and left the armory for incoming Soldiers.
For two days, almost 100 Soldiers staffed 18 traffic control points in two shifts. They divided the south side in half, keeping Main South (also known as South Third Ave, or Highway 22) open, but allowing only repair crews, residents, and residents' helpers onto 5th through 7th Streets. "The home owners were very thankful, and the police department was just ecstatic to have the extra help," said Capt. Ann Mutzenberger, commander of the 816th.
"Everybody in town wanted to go down and check it out, or help buddies or families," said Staff Sgt. Scott Obrigewitch, section sergeant of the 1st Platoon Wheeled Section of the 816th. Traffic was bumper to bumper, four lanes wide on Main South the day after the tornado. The damages were accessed by adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard and the governor.
By Friday, traffic was down considerably. "Traffic's not even five percent of what it was yesterday," said Sgt. Jason Badinger, 816th, staffing a TCP at 6th St. on Friday.
Twardoski staffed a TCP on 7th St. Friday, only a block from his very own house. He was in Dickinson when the tornado hit, getting ready to go to Camp Ripley for annual training. His pregnant wife and their three children were at home at 6th St. SE. Twardoski called them when things started to get nasty, only to hear his wife say, "I gotta go. It's getting bad." Afterward, he could not get through to her. He tried to call everybody he knew, and finally got hold of a work buddy, Cary McLement, who checked and found that they were all right. The Twardoskis had some minor damage, mainly to their vehicles and house siding. "Not much compared to others — it's still there," Twardoski said. Two other Soldiers suffered worse: Staff Sgt. Brady Lyson, 5th Ave. SW, and Spc. Cole Salinas, 2nd Ave. SE, both had major damage to their garages.
The roving patrols through the night, checking that persons present in the damaged area actually lived there or were helping those that did, made a difference fast. "It only took about an hour to take effect," said Mutzenberger.
Two-thirds of the Soldiers were from the 816th, its detachment in Mott, or the 818th Engineer Company in Williston. The rest volunteered from assorted units all around the state, including the 191st Military Police Company, Detachment 1, Company A of the 231st Support Battalion, Valley City; the 188th (Vertical), Wahpeton; HHC 141st Support Battalion, Fargo; the 957th MRBC, Bismarck, Det. 1 of the 818th Engineer Company (Sappers) Hazen; the 897th Concrete, Carrington, and the 188th ADA.
"I'm extremely proud of our Soldiers," said Mutzenberger. "They've got families, they've got jobs, but every time we call, they're here. There've been members on state active duty on snow ops in Mountrail in January; flood ops in March and April in Bismarck, Fargo and Minot; and flood ops in Jamestown in May. The Soldiers are very proud to be able to assist their own town, and the community support has been awesome."
As of Saturday, more Soldiers of the 816th were due to arrive in Dickinson for what would have been annual training at Camp Grafton. Stark County emergency services manager Brent Pringle asked for Soldiers for debris cleanup, and it looked like the Soldiers would be put to work in Dickinson at least through the weekend.
| Date Taken: | 07.13.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 07.13.2009 01:37 |
| Story ID: | 36278 |
| Location: | DICKINSON, US |
| Web Views: | 1,116 |
| Downloads: | 789 |
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