GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Spc. John P. Finck has nothing against other parts of flood-ravaged North Dakota.
It's just that, if he had a choice, he'd rather be fighting back the high water in familiar territory.
Finck and other members of the Grand Forks-based 1-188th Air Defense Artillery are doing just that this week, as the focus of the state's flood-fighting effort shifts from Fargo to Grand Forks and points north.
For the past two weeks, Finck's unit has been keeping homes and neighborhoods in Fargo, 70 miles to south, safe and dry from floodwaters.
But this week, for Finck, a Grand Forks native, there's no place like home.
"Not being from Fargo, it just felt a bit different; we were just doing our job," Finck said. "Here, it means a little bit more, because this is your town. There's more sentimental value and more pride involved."
The 188th Soldiers put in their first full shift Friday, walking the emergency sandbag dikes along Lake Drive in Grand Forks' Burke Addition. They carefully inspected levees and ensured sump pumps were operating.
"We already found one today that wasn't working," said Sgt. 1st Class Darren C. Horton, who is in charge of dayshift dike patrollers.
Finck and his patrolling partner, Spc. Nathan T. Blair, East Grand Forks, weaved in and out of backyards, stopping occasionally to visit with appreciative homeowners.
At one home, Blair bumped into Eunice Kuhn, who he hadn't seen since she was his art teacher back in middle school in East Grand Forks. He was concerned that the Kuhn's sump pump wasn't working.
The teacher and former pupil began reminiscing about old times and recalled how they both had broken their arms at the same time and how difficult it was for them to draw and paint.
As the two Guard members left, Kuhn called out, "Thank you! You guys have been great."
It's that kind of reaction that gives Blair a sense of fulfillment. He added it feels even better when it's neighbor helping neighbor.
In Fargo, Blair ran traffic-control points to regulate access to flooded portions of the city and to ease congestion for dump trucks hauling important sand and dirt for emergency levees.
The duty was long and sometimes chaotic.
"The best thing about being back here in Grand Forks is that, when I am done for the day, I get to go home to my family," Blair said.
Fink, Blair and the rest of their unit are part of a contingent of more than 300 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen monitoring overland and river flooding from Mayville, N.D., to the Canadian border.
Most are based out of the Grand Forks Armed Forces Reserve Center, with smaller detachments headquartered in places such as Cavalier, N.D., and Pembina, N.D.
The dike-patrolling Soldiers of the 188th have been greeted with relief by the homeowners of the Burke Addition. The subdivision, southeast of Grand Forks' city limits, is adjacent to a narrow waterway that washes over low-lying backyards along Lake Drive.
It's one of the most flood-prone places in the Grand Forks area.
Horton said some Burke Addition residents have set out snacks and refreshments in their garages and have told them to stop in any time
"They're telling me that they can finally sleep through the night now that we are here," Horton said. "They were getting up every 45 minutes to check their sump pumps."