The Ohio River was rising. With the river cresting above the flood stage level and rain in the forecast for days to come, the city of Portsmouth was in jeopardy.
On the afternoon of Presidents Day (Feb. 19), CPT Coleman Johnson, commander of the local Ohio Army National Guard unit, received a phone call informing him that his unit was needed – and needed fast.
“From the time I first received the call, within 4½ hours, I was already having to tell people, ‘No, we already have enough volunteers from the local area,’” said CPT Johnson. “The vast majority of our Soldiers live within 50 miles of Portsmouth, so it really is Ohioans helping out their family and friends.”
CPT Johnson’s unit, the 1191st Engineering Company, is based in a readiness center about three miles from the Portsmouth flood walls. The unit, which is made up of Ohio National Guard Citizen-Soldiers who live and work in Portsmouth and the surrounding communities, answered the call to help the hometown community in its greatest time of need.
The mission? Erect floodgates for the city to keep out rising water. With the river at 55 feet the morning of Feb. 19, this would be a precautionary job, but it needed to be done in case the weather turned worse.
Nearly 40 engineers from the 1191st Engineering Company erected two floodgates in the city’s floodwall that day. Across the city are 15 floodwall openings of varying sizes that will be closed depending on the river crest levels.
The two gates the Soldiers raised, positioned at the lowest elevation near the river, were at the areas of the most immediate need in the event of rising waters. Less than a half mile away, a racetrack was completely underwater, with only a billboard and parking lot lights peeking above the water.
The gates were assembled quickly – the result of quick action and teamwork by the Ohio National Guard and the Portsmouth Flood Defense Division. In less than nine hours on Presidents Day, the towering structures of steel beams, wood planking and plastic sheeting were in place. Hundreds of burlap sandbags lined the base, securing the lower edge.
“Everybody knows their job and what needs to happen,” said SGT Matthew Moore, the NCO in charge of the floodwall project on 2nd Street in Portsmouth. “That makes it go up smoother, faster and safer for our Soldiers and the community.”
“Every major [State] emergency response always involves the Ohio National Guard,” said Larry Mullins, the public information officer for the Scioto County Emergency Management Association. “We’re just blessed to have such an amount of people who are ready to volunteer their time and help out their community.”
For the Soldiers of the 1191st Engineering Company, the opportunity to support their community is why they joined the National Guard.
“We’ve been on several other missions – hurricane relief and helping other States – but very rarely do we get the call to come help out our own community,” SGT Moore said. “It makes me proud to be a part of this community.”
BY SGT Michael Carden, OHIO NATIONAL GUARD
