Page 18 - The Dispatch December 2019

TEXAS MILITARY DEPARTMENT
towns and airfields, such as Freeport and Ellington
The 43rd and 9th battalions in Port Arthur mobilized Field. He reported that fields and structures along
to stop traffic at the seawall, maintain order in ho- the coast sustained significant damage and flooding,
tel lobbies and protect local schools filled with hun- the road to Freeport was impassable and the town
dreds of evacuees. At Gulfport Boiler and Welding of Kemah was under water. The second pilot, Capt.
Works, Guard members kept watch over the ship- W. H. Cocke, flew over Houston and the lowlands,
yards and assisted workers trying to save equipment Liberty, Galveston Bay and Galveston. The third pi-
and materials from flooding waters. lot, Capt. Bernie Groce, checked out Kemah because
the Red Cross had sent a message that people need-
Although escaping the impact of the storm, Corpus ed rescuing, but he found no one there. All pilots
Christi had requested the 28th Battalion to protect relayed reports of total devastation.
downtown and north beach businesses from loot-
ers. Guard members with Enfield rifles closed the The Texas Defense Guard ended its mission on Sept.
Nueces Bay causeway and prevented traffic at the 24. In their first disaster response, Guard members
seawall and water gates. proved they were ready as a state defense force.
They were proud, and their morale soared. They had
Radio operators from the Texas Defense Guard main- earned the respect of the civilian authorities, local
tained communications by radio throughout the law enforcement and the public.
storm. At Palacios, 1st Lt. J. C. Johnson of Houston,
who served in the radio division, worked throughout “I cannot speak too highly of the work of everyone
the night of Sept. 23 and early morning of Sept. 24 concerned. If the Texas Defense Guard had not mo-
and was one of only a few radios that continuously bilized and contributed their service, we would not
broadcast along the Texas coast. have been able to handle the situation alone,” re-
marked Houston Chief of Police Ray Ashworth.
On the morning of Sept. 24, the final mission of the
Texas Defense Guard was to survey the coast and re- Texas Defense Guard members were men of selfless
port back the damage. The 2nd Squadron, Aviation service, bravery and dedication to serving fellow Tex-
Branch, received the mission. Capt. N. E. Meador pi- ans during the 1941 hurricane. Those qualities re-
loted the first plane to leave any Houston airport for main in the character and soul of every Guard mem-
the previous 30 hours. He flew over oil fields, several ber who serves today in the Texas State Guard.-D

Emergency trained scouts cooperate
with other community agencies in
case of disaster. Studying a project
map during the Emergency Service
Corps training program are, left to
right, Don Mason, Dwight Burcham
and Skipper Leon Rickert, all of the Sea
Scout Ship Vampyre, and Capt. Tom
Berryhill of the Texas Defense Guard,
Mates Malcolm Cross, Thomas Hub-
bard and Tom Turner. They are stand-
ing outdoors, all wearing their respec-
tive uniforms. (Courtesy of: University
of Texas Arlington Digital Archive)

18 TheDISPATCH December 2019