CLINTON, N.C. – A North Carolina National Guard High-Water Vehicle team from 105th Engineer Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company rescued a family of four from their flooded mobile home before Hurricane Dorian arrived Sept. 5.
The family, which included a pregnant woman, a pre-teen boy and an elderly man and woman, were evacuated to a shelter at Clayton High School.
The 105th Engineer Battalion in Raeford put soldiers on state active duty orders Sept. 2 to carry out rescue and relief operations with state and local first responders.
The battalion spent part of the day in Elizabethtown Sept. 3 and moved to Sampson County and Clinton before rescuing the family.
Sampson County Emergency Operations Center requested aid for an MTV (medium tactical vehicle or high-water vehicle) team to work with firefighters and save the family, said Sgt. Wesley Brantley, a combat medic with the 105th.
“For a family who lived on a back road that has a pond near it, they had water in their backyard and it already had come up to the first step of their house”, Brantley said.
On Ocracoke Island, members of the Guard and the local fire department delivered non-perishable food, generators, transportation, and power to people.
“Talking to a lot of the locals here on the island that we interacted with and sent generators to, they said Hurricane Dorian is the worst they had seen since the '40s,” Brantley said.
“It was amazing to see how everyone is working together and in sync to rebuild this community and get it back together,” Brantley said.
On Sept. 11, members of the North Carolina National Guard and state and local first-responders were still providing recovery and relief operations on Ocracoke Island.