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The Red River Floods of 1997 Oral History Project: Interview with Greg Dahl

Titles: The Red River Floods of 1997 Oral History Project: Interview with Greg Dahl (Supplied title)

Description: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Greg Dahl was born near Eau Claire, Wisconsin. After graduating from high school he joined the Wisconsin National Guard. In 1990 he moved to St. Cloud, Minnesota and joined the Minnesota National Guard. In 1995 he moved to Moorhead. At the time of the interview, Dahl was a major in the Moorhead Headquarters Unit, with primary responsibilities in communications and administration. The Minnesota Guard's units in the northwest sector of the state consisted at that time of the battalion headquarters in Moorhead, plus four companies of the 2nd battalion of the 136th Infantry: A company, located in and Wadena and Fergus Falls; B company in Crookston and Thief River Falls; C company in Bemidji; and D company in Detroit Lakes. Together with most of the other Guard members, Dahl returned to his normal duties after the flood, and continued to live in Moorhead. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Dahl discusses the roles of Guard units in dealing with the emergencies that arose during the 1997 flood. He describes the various duties undertaken by the Guard in the flooded communities of Ada, Breckenridge, and East Grand Forks, as well as Guard activities in the rural areas of the region. These duties consisted of such things as traffic control (including the guarding of roads permitting access to evacuated neighborhoods), dike patrol, delivery of emergency supplies including gasoline and fuel oil, and even occasional work to reinforce dikes. The most common and well-publicized duty of the Guard was assisting homeowners and residents to evacuate as the flood waters rose. Dahl discusses the transportation equipment used during the evacuations and the communications system for organizing and directing the units' activities. He also provides details on some of the difficulties that Guard members - some of whom were themselves victims of the flooding - encountered while carrying out these tasks. Dahl concludes the interview by describing the steps that have been taken since the flood to repair Guard transport and other equipment.

Dates

  • 07/25/1997 (Creation)

Creation

Identifiers

  • Library Call Number: OH 57
  • Accession Number: AV1999.66.8

Holding Type: Oral History - Interview

Project

Quantity: 1 hour sound cassette 31 pages transcript

Format

  • Content Category: sound recordings
  • Content Category: text

Measurements

  • 55 minutes length

Subjects

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Audio:

Audio Part 1

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Audio Part 2

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