133rd Arrives!
Paul R. Bernard, 3rd District
Public Relations Historian, American Legion
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Lewiston ~ At approximately
9:00am there's allot of overcast and heavy moisture in the air. The beginning of
the Vietnam Wall Experience is upon us. But first on hand was the 133rd.
The 133rd Engineer Battalion, Army National Guard, the largest battalion in Maine will be consolidating its Alpha, Bravo and Charlie companies into two independent units.
The
262nd Engineer Company made up of troops who construct buildings, and the 136th
Engineer Company whose members build roads and runways. The history of the 133rd
Engineer Battalion goes back to the Civil War, when it was part of the 20th
Maine Infantry Regiment that fought at Gettysburg under General Joshua
Chamberlain.
The unit fought in both World Wars under the 103rd Infantry Regiment and was converted to the 133rd Engineer Battalion in 1967. The unit also saw duty in Iraq in 2003 and 2004.
Present
were: Front kneeling, Jed Hutchins PFC, Michael Johnson SPC, Eric Bolduc SSG.
Standing from left to right: Jason Burnham SGT, Benjamin Abbott SPC, Steven Dee SPC, Jon Boubeli SSG,
Jeff Cayer SGT, Mik Gilbert SPC, Dustin Heath SPC,.
Michael Martel of the
Fortin Group greeted the 133rd and oversaw the operation with great expectations
of what was to come.
Dale Burnell,
Roger Martel and Clayton Roy are busy setting the base of the wall beginning at
the apex.
As you can see Dale and
Roger and Clayton had their tools and schematics in place. Looking West you can
see the length of the base. Most people never see the beginning stages to a
spectacular end result. Certainly this event took months of planning and
meetings at the Fortin Group on Center Street Auburn. The key to the success of
this event is "preparation", to prepare, everyone stayed focused and moved
forward on their task.
Jeff Cayer SGT, Benjamin Abbott SPC,
and Dustin Heath SPC are pictured setting up the tents for the counselors that
will be on hand.
Former
Marine and
Vietnam Veteran, Warren K. Clark, 3rd District Sergeant at Arms, American Legion was overwhelmed by the enormity of the project and the dedication
and commitment of the 133rd. Clark is also a member of the Marine Corps League,
Central Maine Detachment 810.
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