Mildred Day: First Uniformed Servicewoman of the Ga. DoD

 By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 On January 24, 1945, Mildred Day of Atlanta became the first woman to serve in a component of the Ga. Department of Defense. Day enlisted in the Georgia State Guard and served in the headquarters section of the Atlanta-based 4^th Battalion.

Mildred Day is sworn into the Ga. State Guard by Lt. Col. Frank Fling, commander of the Atlanta-based
4th Battalion Jan 24, 1945. Day was the first uniformed servicewoman to serve in the Ga. State Guard
Georgia National Guard Archives.

Background

In September 1940, General Order 13 of the Military Department of Georgia brought the Georgia National Guard en masse into federal service.[1] To fulfill the domestic response role of the National Guard, the governor established the State Defense Corps, later the State Guard – forerunner of today’s Georgia State Defense Force as an all-volunteer force akin to the home guards established by the War Department in World War I.

The ranks of the newly formed State Guard filled swiftly until the Guard boasted 20 infantry battalions for home defense, and an air squadron. These formations were constituted to handle emergency responses, riot calls and to serve the role of coastal defense and observation.[2]

Atlanta Constitution Jan 12, 1945.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 brought additional gravity to the service of the State Guard. Under the command of Lt. Col. Frank Fling, the Atlanta-based 4^th Battalion responded to an ever-increasing mission demand while the recruitable population continued to funnel into the active services. The Battalion was assigned to provide security for vital installations and civil structures in the Atlanta area.

As 1944 drew to a close, the ranks of the State Guard required more able-bodied service members for the war effort in Europe and the Pacific. Faced with a literal manpower shortage, Col. R. W. Collins, commander of the State Guard, issued an appeal for volunteers to bolster the ranks. [3] On January 21, 1945, the Georgia State Guard received approval from the governor of Georgia to organize a women’s division with the mission to provide qualified administrative personnel to the various battalion headquarters across the state.[4]

Day in 1931. 
The Napsonian

Mildred Day was the first to respond to the January call for volunteers.[5] The 32-year-old Day was a 1931 graduate of North Atlanta Presbyterian School[6], which in 1951 became the Westminster School. The daughter of Lemuel and Laura Day, successful printing company owners, Day worked in department store sales and as a stenographer for the Atlanta Police Department before interviewing with Fling about opportunities at the 4^th Battalion. On January 24, Fling swore Day in as a member of the Georgia State Guard with the rank of technical sergeant, equivalent to sergeant 1^st class in today’s Army.

Day was the first of six women who would assist the fourth department headquarters. The women wore the uniform of the Women’s Auxiliary Corps with the Georgia State Guard Patch on their shoulder.[7]

Shoulder-sleeve insignia of the Ga.
State Guards. Ga. National Guard
Archives.

The January 1945 directive authorized the enlistment of women for the expressed, and purpose of assisting with clerical work. Despite this, Day and other servicewomen accompanied the 4^th Battalion on its April maneuvers at Camp Toccoa, where, in addition to their clerical duties, the women assisted on the firing range by tallying marksmanship scores.[8]

By the end of World War II, more than 100 women had volunteered to serve in the Georgia State Guards; however, the 1946, reorganization of the Georgia National Guard jeopardized the future of the Georgia State Guard and its female volunteers. Brig. Gen. Marvin Griffin, Georgia's Adjutant General, observed that, "Unless plans change, there will be no provision for women enlisting in the National Guard."

Helen Mankin, LOC.

Understandably, this did not sit well with Day’s fellow servicewoman, Tech 3 Edna Harbin, who wrote to her representative in Congress to advocate the position of women in the National Guard. Her congresswoman, Helen Mankin concurred. 

Mankin, the second congresswoman in Georgia’s history, had served as an ambulance driver in World War I. Among those testifying on behalf of Harbin and Day were their former battalion commander, Lt. Col Frank Fling, who noted that the women had performed exceptionally well during their tenure with the 4^th Battalion.[9]

The Georgia State Guard disbanded April 21, 1947, and with it, went the authorizations for female service members.[10] It would be nine years before uniformed female service members would rejoin the Ga. DoD, and another 28 years after that before the reestablishment of the Georgia State Guard as the State Defense Force.[11]

Very little is known about Day’s life after her service in the Ga. State Guard. Shortly after the end of the war she married Hencil Ring, vice president of the Roanoke City Mills in Virginia. Ring died in 1947 and Mildred never remarried. She died July 14, 1975 in Clearwater, Fla. and is buried in College Park Cemetery in Atlanta beside her parents.

Midred Evelyn Day-Ring rests beside her parents in College Park Cemetery. Photo by Maj. William Carraway.

 

[1] GO No. 13, Military Department, State of Georgia Oct 7, 1941.

[2] "Guard’s ‘Minute Women’ Face Loss of Jobs Soon." The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, May 1946, 7.

[3] "Local State Guard Needs Recruits for Replacements." West Point News, April 13, 1944.

[4] "Women to Aid State Guard Under New Plan.” Atlanta Constitution, January 21, 1945, 20.

[5] "First Woman Volunteer Sworn into Guard." The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, January 1945, 6.

[6] The Napsonian. Atlanta, GA: North Atlanta Presbyterian School, 1931, 7.

[7] "Guard’s ‘Minute Women’ Face Loss of Jobs Soon." The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, May 1946, 7.

[8] "Guard’s ‘Minute Women’ Face Loss of Jobs Soon." The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, May 1946, 7.

[9] "Guard’s ‘Minute Women’ Face Loss of Jobs Soon." The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, May 1946, 7.

[10] “Thompson Ends State Guard.” Atlanta Constitution, April 20, 1947, 23.

[11] “New State Defense Force will respond to emergencies if Guard mobilized.” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, August 1985, 3.

Georgia National Guard Activated for Drought Relief

by Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

In 1986, the southeastern United States was gripped by drought and extreme temperatures that withered crops and threatened livestock. By July, Governor Joe Frank Harris had declared a state of emergency[1]. Facing nearly $150 million in agricultural losses[2] with no relief in sight, the governor turned to the Georgia National Guard.

From July 30 to August 1 nearly 150 Georgia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen delivered more than 1,100 tons of hay to distribution points across the state to feed starving livestock.[3] The Guardsmen fanned out in 32 trucks to points selected by the Department of Agriculture. In north Georgia, the Atlanta-based 277^th Maintenance Company delivered hay to Calhoun and Gainesville. Soldiers of the Macon-based 48^th Infantry Brigade assisted in the delivery of hay to Macon and Eatonton in middle Georgia while South Georgia received assistance in Swainsboro and Cordele. Airmen of the 202nd Electronic Installation Squadron from Macon, the 224th Joint Communications Support Squadron of St. Simons Island, 116th Tactical Fighter Wing from Marietta, and the 165th Tactical Airlift Group of Savannah provided personnel and vehicles in support of the state-wide effort.

Hay from Illinois and Kentucky is transferred from rail cars to Georgia National Guard vehicles for distribution to Georgia farmers. Georgia Guard Archives.

The hay was transported by rail from Illinois and Kentucky. Over the course of three days, the hay was transferred from nearly 100 railcars to trucks for delivery to points across the state.[4] The Georgia Department of Transportation supplied equipment for the loading and unloading of the hay and the Department of Public Safety provided a Georgia State Patrol escort for each convoy. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency established its mobile command post as an operations center and Bell South Mobility donated cellular phones to facilitate communication between GEMA, the State Farmer’s Market, and other areas of operation.

In addition to the hay brough in by rail, nearly 60 tons tons of hay donated by Wisconsin and Illinois farmers were flown to Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta on Air Force Reserve C-130s July 31, 1986.[5] Seven Georgia National Guard trucks, escorted by Georgia State Patrol conveyed the hay to the Farmer’s Market in Forest Park for distribution.

To support the Georgia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen as they labored in the July heat, volunteers from the Salvation Army and Red Cross provided a ready supply of cold drinks and sandwiches. By the end of the operation, nearly 50,000 bales of hay had been delivered to Georgia’s farmers.[6]

Major General Joseph W. Griffin, Georgia’s Adjutant General, praised the Guardsmen and agency partners at the conclusion of the joint effort.

"A task force of selected equipment and compatible personnel representing every Guard element worked together steadily for three days of state active duty-and got the job done," said Griffin "It was truly a team effort by everyone involved… all of us worked for the common goal of bringing some relief to Georgia farmers."[7]

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[1] Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report 1986. Marietta, GA: 1987, 20.

[2] “Drought also takes toll on human spirit.” The Los Angeles Times, July 23, 1986. Reviewed July 28, 2020 at https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-23-mn-21515-story.html

[3] “Guard 'hayday' gives Ga. farmers a lift.” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, August September 1986, 1.

[4] “95-car train hauls tons of hay to state,” The Atlanta Constitution, July 30, 1986, 9.

[5] “Area farmers hope for more donations.” Atlanta Constitution, July 31, 1986, 97.

[6] Guard 'hayday' gives Ga. farmers a lift.” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, August September 1986, 1.

[7] Ibid.

The Struggles for Atlanta: Forgotten Losses of a Savage Campaign

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Imagine the contemporary monuments our nation might erect to commemorate the loss of 18,000 Soldiers. Such grievous losses defy our ability to fathom in modern combat, and yet, in 1864, two mighty armies were bled of 18,000 Soldiers while contending for the prize of Atlanta. Aside from the occasional sign or plaque, the Battle of Atlanta is commemorated more in asphalt and development than in obelisks and contemplation. In the shadow of skyscrapers three major battles were fought for control of a city, for control of the White House and for the future of the United States of America.

Federal troops open fire during a 2014 reenactment of the Atlanta Campaign. Photo by Capt. William Carraway

Federal Situation

Major General William Sherman had, through a series of flanking maneuvers, brought his three armies to the threshold of Atlanta. Despite his defeat at Kennesaw Mountain, Sherman had managed to again slip around the defenses of Confederate General Joseph Johnston. Now his 70,000 men drew nearer to the vital rail hub of Atlanta. It was July 10. The air was hot and thick with humidity. Already Sherman’s forces were crossing the Chattahoochee River after Federal cavalry secured ford sites.

Atlanta and Vicinity. McCarley, J. Britt, The Atlanta and Savannah Campaigns, 1864 Map 4. Washington DC: United States Army Center of Military History, 2014.

Sherman’s three armies were moving against Atlanta from the north and east. The stakes were high. In Virginia, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign had inflicted 100,000 casualties without delivering a decisive victory to the North. As Sherman was crossing the Chattahoochee, Grant and Lee were settling in for a war of attrition in the trenches surrounding Petersburg. 1864 was an election year, and for an electorate increasingly weary of war, the Democrat presidential candidate, George McClellan was gaining support. The former commander of the Army of the Potomac, “Little Mac” proposed suing for peace – a strategy Southern leaders desperately desired. Unless the Federal armies could produce a clear victory, the Lincoln administration would face a challenging reelection bid. With Grant bogged down in Virginia, Washington’s eyes turned to Sherman’s armies in hopes of a great victory that would convince voters that the war was indeed winnable.

Georgia Soldiers of Maj. Gen. William Walker's Division prepare to advance during a 2014 reenactment of the Atlanta Campaign. Photo by Capt. William Carraway

Confederate Situation

On July 13, 1864, Gen. Braxton Bragg, former commander of the Army of Tennessee arrived at Gen. Johnston’s Atlanta headquarters, on behalf of the Confederate government, to determine Johnston’s plans for defense of the city. In the two days that followed, Bragg determined to advise Confederate President Jefferson Davis to remove Johnston as commander of the Army of Tennessee. This was a risky decision, as Johnston was enormously popular with his men, but Johnston’s tactic of trading battle space for time had not endeared him to the Confederate leadership. While preserving his force of 40,000, Johnston seemed intent to fight a defensive (or timid) campaign.

Battle of Peachtree Creek. McCarley Map 5

On July 17, Davis relieved Johnston and replaced him with the fiery Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood. Hood had built a reputation as an aggressive commander. His actions at the head of his Texas Brigade in 1862 earned him promotion to major general, and divisional command. At Gettysburg, his division, including two Georgia brigades, attacked the Little Round Top in some of the fiercest fighting of the battle’s second day. Hood was wounded in the left arm by a shell which rendered his arm useless. He returned to command in time to serve as a corps commander at Chickamauga where he was severely wounded and lost his right leg inches below the hip. Now, at the head of the Army of Tennessee, Hood determined to utilize the same methods of direct attack which had served him in Virginia.

The Battle of Peachtree Creek: July 20, 1864

Hood saw an opportunity to strike Sherman almost immediately after taking command. Two Federal armies were maneuvering east towards Decatur while Maj. Gen. George Thomas’ Army of the Cumberland was crossing Peachtree Creek north of Atlanta. With a gap thus formed, Hood ordered an attack on Thomas’s isolated force. 

The Confederate Army attacked north in a line roughly spanning the distance between present day I-75 and I-85. To the right, Georgians in the divisions of William Walker and William Bate struggled through thick terrain. Bate’s Division became entirely lost and was not engaged, but Walker’s Georgians attacked Federal positions near the present location of Piedmont Hospital. Brigadier General Clement Stevens, one of Walker’s brigade commanders, was killed in the attack that cost the Confederates 2,500 men and failed to dislodge the Federals from their positions.

Battle of Atlanta. McCarley, Map 6.

The Battle of Atlanta: July 22, 1864

Maj. Gen. James McPherson. LOC

Having failed in his attack against one half of Sherman’s forces, Hood next attempted to strike the second half composed of the armies of Maj. Gen. James McPherson and John Schofield. Having severed the railroad to Augusta, McPherson perceived his position to be isolated. His intuition was correct as Hood had massed two corps to strike his army. The corps of Maj. Gen. Benjamin Cheatham attacked from the west with his battle line positioned along modern-day Moreland Avenue. A second corps under Lt. Gen. William Hardee struck McPherson from the south moving parallel to modern-day Interstate 20. McPherson was riding to observe the actions when his party encountered the 5th Confederate, a veteran Irish regiment in Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne’s Division. Ordered to surrender, McPherson rendered a salute and spurred his horse to escape. He was shot from his horse mortally wounded. McPherson became one of the highest-ranking federal casualties of the war.

Maj. Gen. William Walker
LOC

Less than a mile from the spot where McPherson fell, Maj. Gen. William Walker was leading his veteran division of Georgians past the Terry Mill Pond near the present location of Interstate 20’s exit 61. As his men reformed on a ridge, Walker advanced and surveyed the federal line. Conspicuous by the glint of his sword and field glasses Walker was spotted by a Federal sharpshooter and shot through the head.

Fighting continued until nightfall with no net benefit to the Confederates who lost 5,500 men to the Federals 4,000.

Battle of Ezra Church: July 28, 1864

Battle of Ezra Church. McCarley, Map 7

On July 27, Sherman dispatched his Army of the Tennessee west of Atlanta. Their mission was to sever the Macon Railroad: the last remaining source of supply for Hood’s beleaguered army. Detecting Sherman’s intent, Hood dispatched a corps and two divisions to fix the Army of the Tennessee in place and then maneuver by flank to destroy it. Newly promoted corps commander Stephen Dill Lee established blocking positions as ordered, but instead of entrenching, Lee chose to attack. Unfortunately for Lee and his corps, the Federal commander, Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard (for whom Howard University is named) had anticipated the attack and had ordered his men to entrench and fortify defensive positions. Lee’s attack turned into a pitiful massacre. Three thousand Confederate Soldiers were killed or wounded while the Federals lost only 600.

Siege and Fall of Atlanta

Three times Hood had attacked and three times he had been thrown back with horrendous irreplaceable losses. Having bled his army of 25 percent of its strength without gaining a single advantage, Hood settled in for siege warfare. With Grant stalled in Virginia, Hood hoped he could hold Atlanta through the November election and possibly force a change of leadership in Washington.

Sherman, cognizant of the political urgency, resolved to make Atlanta untenable. In August he ordered the shelling of the city. Although civilians were killed by the bombardment, no military advantage was realized. More successful were Sherman’s efforts to sever rail lines supplying Atlanta. Having already cut rail lines to the north and east, Sherman set sights on the Macon Railroad south of Atlanta. By August 30, 1864, Sherman’s forces had slipped quietly away from the trenches opposing Atlanta and had marched on Jonesboro. Repulsing an attack by the Confederate corps of William Hardee, Sherman reached the Macon Railroad on August 31, 1864 – the same day the Democrat National Convention officially nominated George McClellan for President.

With his final supply line severed, Hood had little choice but to abandon Atlanta in hopes of preserving his army. On Sept. 2, 1864, Federal troops entered the city. The next day, Sherman telegraphed to Washington “Atlanta is ours and fairly won.”

According to the research of historian Michael Hitt, this image depicts Fort Hood looking southwest. Fort Hood was located on Marietta Street
approximately 1.5 miles northwest of the present location of Centennial Park. The troops in the fort are Federal. LOC

Aftermath

The effect was immediate. The fall of Atlanta demonstrated that the war could be won and was being effectively prosecuted. The South’s last-best hope for suing for peace under favorable terms evaporated with the fall of Atlanta, and the North was empowered with the will to see an end to the war; a war that was about to become all the more savage.

Georgia Guard Stories of Sacrifice from the Marietta National Cemetery

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Memorial Day is a solemn annual observance in which our nation pauses to remember those who gave their lives to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and future generations. For this Memorial Day, the Georgia National Guard History office examines the stories of fallen Georgia National Guardsmen from World War II who rest in Marietta National Cemetery.

About the Cemetery

Marietta National Cemetery is the final resting place of nearly 19,000 of our nation’s veterans. The cemetery was established in 1866 as the Marietta and Atlanta National Cemetery to accommodate nearly 10,000 fallen Federal Soldiers from the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War.[1] Since that time, the cemetery has served as the final resting place for those who fell in our nation’s wars. Among them are seven members of the Georgia Guard who fell during World War II. The lineage of the units in which these Soldiers fell continue in service today in the Georgia Army and Air National Guard.

 

Sgt. Harold Wood, Co B, 121st Infantry Regiment

Sergeant Harold Milner Wood, Company B, 121^st Infantry Regiment

Harold Wood was born April 15, 1902. He enlisted in the Georgia Army National Guard’s Company B. 121st Infantry Regiment based in Barnesville. The Barnesville Blues conducted initial training with the regiment at Fort Jackson, S.C. and continued training during the Carolina and Tennessee Maneuvers. The 121^st landed on Normandy’s Omaha Beach July 4, 1944.[2] During the attempt to push entrenched German Soldiers out of La Haye du Puits in Northern France, Wood was killed in action July 13, 1944. He is buried in Marietta National Cemetery, Section K, Grave 4044 B.

 

TSgt. Emmett Asbell, Co M, 121st Infantry Regiment

Technical Sergeant Emmett Asbell, Company M, 121^st Infantry Regiment

Emmett Asbell was born September 14, 1915 in Bleckley County, Ga. Asbell enlisted in the Hawkinsville-based Company M, 121st Infantry and rose to the rank of 1st sergeant before his unit was accepted into federal service in September 1940. Like Wood, Asbell completed the pre-deployment training with the 121^st Infantry Regiment before fighting his way through the Normandy and Northern France campaigns. He was killed in action November 26, 1944 in Germany and is buried in Marietta National Cemetery, Section K, Grave 2008 I.

 

Lt. Col. William Waldo, 101st SP BN CAC

Lieutenant Colonel William Waldo, Headquarters Company, 101^st Separate Battalion, Coast Artillery Corps

William Slayton Waldo was born October 8, 1902. He was a long-time member of the 108th Cavalry having enlisted as a private in April 1921. He was promoted to staff sergeant in 1924, commissioned a second lieutenant in 1925 and promoted to first lieutenant two years later. In 1939, 1^st Lt. Waldo served as the adjutant of headquarters, 1^st Squadron, 108^th Cavalry when it converted to form a coast artillery battalion. Captain Waldo commanded Headquarters Company, 101st Separate Battalion, Coast Artillery Corps when it was accepted into federal service in September 1940. Waldo received promotion to major and lieutenant colonel before mobilizing for the Pacific Theater in 1943. Waldo fell ill while transiting the Panama Canal. He died December 9, 1943 in the Panama Canal Zone. He is buried in Marietta National Cemetery, Section Q, Grave 57.

 

Pvt. Herman D. Brinkley, Co B, 121st Infantry Regiment

Private Herman D. Brinkley, Company B, 121^st Infantry Regiment

Herman D. Brinkley of Lamar, Ga. joined the Barnesville Blues, Company B, 121st Infantry Regiment September 16, 1940 at the age of 18. He was killed in action in the vicinity of Isigny-sur-Mer, France July 16, 1944. He is buried in Marietta National Cemetery Section E, Grave 6544-1.

T4 Paull Callaway, Co D, 121st Infantry Regiment

Technician 4^th Grade Paul Callaway, Company D, 121^st Infantry Regiment

Paul Callaway joined Company D, 121st Infantry as a private January 24, 1941 at the age of 20. Callaway volunteered for airborne service and was assigned to the 551st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. He was killed in action January 6, 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge. He is buried in Marietta National Cemetery Section K, Grave 10293 C.

 

Pvt. Thomas Hudson, Battery F, 179th FA

Private Thomas F. Hudson, Battery F, 179^th Field Artillery

Thomas F. Hudson enlisted as a private in Battery F, 179th Field Artillery October 10, 1939 at the age of 21. He was transferred to the 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. Private Hudson was killed in action August 2, 1944 near Saint Lo, France. He is buried in Marietta National Cemetery Section K, Grave 4002 E.

 

The 128th OS, May 1941

Technical Sergeant Thomas L. Johnson, 128^th Observation Squadron

Thomas Johnson enlisted in the 128th Observation Squadron at the age of 23 on March 31, 1941. In March 1943, the 128th was redesignated the 21st Antisubmarine Squadron and assigned B-25 Mitchells. On July 23, 1943, Thomas’ aircraft went missing in flight from Gulfport to Tampa. Also missing on the flight were 1st Lt. John Turner, TSgt. Edward Simpson and TSgt. J. R. Grogan, all of the Ga. National Guard. Johnson is memorialized in College Park Cemetery and Marietta National Cemetery, Section MA, Grave 4.

Photos courtesy of the Georgia Army National Guard Archives

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[1] Marietta National Cemetery, https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/marietta.asp

[2] Carraway, William. It Shall Be Done:  The 121st Infantry Enters Fortress Europe. July 26, 2019. http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2019/07/it-shall-be-done-121st-infantry.html

April 1955: Operation Minuteman Demonstrates Effectiveness of National Guard

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

A 57 mm recoilless rifle squad from the Rome-based Company E, 122nd Infantry Regiment secures an intersection during exercises as part of
Operation Minuteman April 20, 1955. Georgia Guard Archives

In April 1955, the National Guard’s 400,000-strong force responded to an unprecedented activation exercise. Operation Minuteman, conceived by Maj. Gen. Edgar Erickson, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, successfully mobilized nearly 320,000 National Guardsmen in an age long before e-mail, social media and smart phones.

This 1955 Cartoon by Bill Canfield illustrates the reach
of Operation Minuteman. Georgia Guard Archives.

“Considering this was the first time that a nationwide alert has been held by a reserve component of the armed forces, the National Guard made a great showing,” said Maj. Gen. George Hearn, Adjutant General of the Georgia National Guard following the conclusion of Operation Minuteman. “The people of the state and nation became instantly aware of the potent force we mobilized in such a short period of time.”

The purpose of Operation Minuteman was to test the speed and efficiency with which the National Guard could be mobilized in the event of a national emergency. Additionally, the operation was intended to demonstrate to the public the efficiency and readiness of the National Guard.

At 3:30 on the afternoon of April 20, 1955, the alert notification was dispatched from Washington D.C. to the adjutants general of the 48 states and Alaska Territory. In towns across the country, local armories were flooded with National Guardsmen responding to the exercise alert. A company commander in the California National Guard reported 70 percent of his personnel had reported within one hour of the alert, ninety percent had reported by the second hour and all were present within three hours of the alert notice.

After assembling, the Guardsmen were dispatched on simulated missions. Units of the Atlanta-based 122^nd Infantry Regiment established protective cordons around vital infrastructure including power stations, water works and radio stations. The 215^th Medical Battalion of the Tennessee National Guard set up four hospital tents near their Memphis Armory and ambulances were dispatched to receive simulated patients.

 

Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers rush to the Atlanta Armory during Operation Minuteman. The Soldiers are from
the 122nd Infantry Regiment, 179th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th Signal Company and 878th Engineer Aviation Battalion. Georgia Guard archives.

In addition to the myriad of Army unit movements, the Air National Guard also responded in force. Georgia Air National Guardsmen of the 116^th Fighter Bomber Wing launched 24 aircraft within the first hour of the alert. While he declined to give official numbers due to operational security concerns, Brig. Gen. Winston P. Wilson, Chief of the Air National Guard, noted that hundreds of aircraft participated in the exercise.

Trucks of the 179th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th Armored Division, Georgia Army National Guard move out from the Atlanta Armory during
Operation Minuteman April 20, 1955. Georgia Guard Archives. 

Operation Minuteman represented the first time in the history of the National Guard that a national level alert was executed. While the National Guard had previously conducted large-scale mobilization efforts, such as those for Mexican Border service in 1916 and for WW II service, those mobilizations were incremental.

Erickson, formerly the adjutant general of Massachusetts, chose April 20 as the date for Operation Minuteman as it was the date that the Minuteman Companies of the Hampshire County Militia Regiment began marching to Boston following the battles of Lexington and Concord.

Sources:

Georgia Guardsman Magazine, March-May 1955 edition 

Healdsburg Tribune, Enterprise and Scimitar, Number 32, April 28, 1955

Madera Tribune, Number 317, 21 April 1955

On This Day in Memphis History, G. Wayne Dowdy

Looking Back: The First 30 Days of Ga. DoD Coronavirus Response Operations

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Georgia Army National Guard 1st Lt. Catherine Blakelock of the Savannah-based Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment
briefs an infection control team before entering a nursing home in Port Wentworth, Ga. April 10, 2020. Photo by 1st Lt. Joe Reynolds

The Beginning

In just one month, the Georgia Department of Defense moved from contingency planning, in preparation for COVID-19 operations, to full engagements in 10 different missions encompassing locations across the state. On March 10, the Clay National Guard lodging facilities were cleared and prepared to receive guests from the Grand Princess Cruise Ship. On that day, the Ga. DoD issued a warning order advising the force that the Ga. DoD would “begin pandemic response operations in order to protect the force, assist local and state authorities with the protection of life and property, and with the preservation of peace, order, and public safety.”

At the time WARNO 1 was issued, Georgia had reported 18 cases of COVID-19 and no deaths. The next day more than 250 cruise ship passengers arrived at Dobbins Air Reserve Force Base to begin observation for COVID-19 symptoms. The Clay National Guard Center received its first passengers the evening of March 13.

Lieutenant Colonel Pervis Brown, officer in charge
of the Ga. DoD's Joint Operations Center and 2nd Lt.
Austin Brumby track mission assignments from the
Georgia Emergency Management Agency at the Joint
Force Headquarters in Marietta, Ga. March 23, 2020.
Phot by Maj. William Carraway

The Response Ramps Up

On March 14, Governor Brian Kemp authorized the activation of 2,000 Georgia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen. The next day, the first Soldiers were on mission transporting patients while Georgia State Defense Force volunteers augmented operations at the headquarters of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency alongside Georgia’s Citizen Soldiers and Airmen. At first, the battle rhythm of operations had the familiarity of a hurricane or severe weather response, but key differences soon became apparent. The state surgeon of the Ga. DoD was an early key staff augmentee at the State Operations Center where civilians and service members worked in coordination with the Department of Public Health.

Medical Support Teams

During the update brief for commanders and senior staff on March 18, Maj. Gen. Tom Carden, Georgia’s Adjutant General, tasked the Ga. DoD joint staff with developing a unit-manning document for a new kind of unit that did not exist anywhere within the force structure. As described by Carden, teams of medical personnel would be assembled in order to supplement hospital staff.

Georgia Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Matthew Brownson, a medical specialist with the 116th Medical Broup Detachment One records patient data at
Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta on March 26, 2020. Photo by Sgt. Jeron Walker

“The people who will populate that unit will be people with medical skill sets who are not first responders, not working in a hospital,” said Carden, addressing commanders and staff at the Joint Force Headquarters in Marietta. “We are not waiting for someone to ask for this information, we need to anticipate the need and be prepared.”

The concept of the joint medical unit evolved into medical support teams, comprised of Soldiers, Airmen, and Ga SDF Volunteers who had civilian or military training in the medical field. Less than two weeks from the first expression of concept, more than 200 personnel were employed at 19 regional medical centers across the state.

Ventilators

Aviators of the Marietta-based 78th Aviation Troop
Command transported 12 ventilators from Tobyhanna
Army Depot April 3, 2020. Photo by Maj. Travis Brown

By March 23, the Ga. DOD coordinated the placement of the first medical support team which embedded two days later. Based on reports fielded from hospitals and input from the state surgeon, Carden tasked the Ga. DoD to inventory all units for ventilators and prepare to transfer them to civilian hospitals.

“Knowing (the number of COVID-19 cases) is not what really matters,” said Carden during a planning meeting with senior leaders. “What really matters is when we hit capacity at hospitals. When will we run out of ventilators?”

With ventilators identified as critical equipment, commanders in the Georgia and Army National Guard requested immediate inventory and calibration. Those in need of calibration were transported to Tobyhanna Army Depot by aviators of the 78^th Aviation Troop Command. By March 24, the Ga. DoD logistics officer reported the Ga. DoD could make 41 ventilators available to hospitals.

In his closing comments to commanders and staff March 24, Carden recognized the herculean efforts of the Ga. DoD and reminded all in attendance to always plan ahead.

“What we are doing now is different than anything we have ever done before,” said Carden. No one in this room has experience with pandemic response. This is where we live our values. Your entire career has built your ability to respond now. Since the day you put the uniform on, you have learned to be adaptive and agile. We have got to know not only what is going on now, we have to think about what is next.”

Infection Control Teams

On March 26, Brigadier General Randall Simmons, Commander of the Ga. ARNG and Joint Task Force Commander Ga. COVID-19 Response Force, traveled to Albany Ga. to meet with community leaders and hospital staff. In addition to visiting patient isolation facilities and speaking with medical support team personnel, Simmons visited a local nursing home where he learned that multiple residents had tested positive for COVID-19. Recognizing the potential health crisis, Simmons suggested the Georgia National Guard could provide assistance to the facility.

Soldiers of the Forsyth-based 2^nd Battalion 121^st Infantry Regiment were dispatched to assist at the Albany nursing home and to supplement patient observation sites in Albany and Forsyth on March 28. Identifying the vulnerability of nursing homes to COVID-19, Carden tasked commanders and staff with anticipating a mission to assist. Colonel John Till, safety officer of the Ga. DOD informed senior leaders that his office had conducted disinfecting operations at Ga. DoD facilities and that the techniques and protective equipment could be adapted to disinfect critical facilities in the state.

In the coming days, Carden briefed members of the Governor’s Task Force on the Coronavirus regarding the risk and potential for the Ga. DoD to assist. Carden briefed the capability to Governor Kemp while Till assembled personnel from the 138^th Chemical Company to constitute the first infection control team.

“We are going to generate the capability and be prepared to provide the service,” said Carden. “The critical discussion will have to be had between DPH and GEMA to determine how we are to be employed. Our job is to lean forward as far as we can.”

On the morning of March 31, Brig. Gen. Simmons directed the 201^st Regional Support Group to dispatch the first ICT to Albany and to take with it personal protective equipment for nursing home workers. Simmons also directed the joint staff to establish a planning team for disinfecting operations.

The first infection control team composed of Soldiers of the 138th Chemical Company and 177th Brigade Engineer Battalion prepare to depart
the Clay National Guard Center for Albany, Ga. March 31, 2020. Photo by Maj. William Carraway

In the coming days, the Ga. DoD established a list of 383 nursing homes across the state. The first ICT trained a follow-on team at the Albany nursing home. On April 1, sixty Soldiers of the Calhoun-based 1^st Squadron, 108^th Cavalry Regiment had trained for the disinfecting mission.

30 Days of Operations

On the morning of April 10, nearly 1,000 Soldiers and Airmen comprising 58 ICTs had cleaned nearly 120 facilities and were continuing to work into the Easter weekend to alleviate human suffering. More than 200 of Georgia’s Citizen Soldiers and Airmen were working shoulder to shoulder with medical personnel at 19 hospitals across the state. Georgia State Defense Force Volunteers provided support to food bank operations in Valdosta, one of nine foodbanks supported by the Ga. DoD across the state. Logisticians supported GEMA and DPH warehouse operations and isolation facilities while more than 70 personnel provided health screenings at hospitals in Athens, Atlanta, Albany, Macon, and Gainesville, freeing nurses and medical support personnel to care for patients.

Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers of the Marietta-based 201st Regional Support Group disinfect a nursing home facility on Easter Sunday
March 12, 2020. The team was visited by Maj. Gen. Tom Carden, Georgia's Adjutant General, who presented coins to Spc. Joshua Brown
of the Monroe-based 178th Military Police Company and Spc. Kevin Mincey of the Hinesville-based 179th MP Company in recognition of their
efforts on behalf of Georgia's Citizens. Photo by 2nd Lt. Elisabeth Tanifum.

As the Ga. DoD passes 30 days of Coronavirus response operations, the role these Citizen Soldiers, Airmen and State Defense Force Volunteers play continues to expand. As Maj. Gen. Tom Carden has said on numerous occasions, “We will never be late to need.”