Knox County’s National Guardsmen joined
in the nationwide Operation Minuteman
Wednesday evening, mustering the members
of Battery D 703d AAA from all sections of the
county in a matter of minutes.
enlisted men of National Guard units of all
branches of the Army in 2400 cities and towns
across the nation.
Squads boarded trucks, third from left, for the ride to the outer
fringes of the airport’s runways where they took up defense
positions. The group was in charge of Sergeant Herbert Hatch of
Rockland.
his alert from headquarters at 6:45 p.m. and
radio and telephone. In a half hour, 25 men
were in uniform at the armory at the Rockland
Municipal Airport in Ash Point. In another
few minutes, 47 of the 64 men in the unit had
reported.
Coming without warning, as the alert did, it
caught some Guardsmen away from town on
business, while several were high school senior
classes on the annual spring sightseeing trips in
New York and Washington. Several Guardsmen,
in communities outside the area at the time of
the alert, telephoned in and then reported to the
nearest National Guard unit to their location for
duty.
The problem was the defense of the airport
against landing by enemy aircraft. It was carried
out well, and with remarkable speed.
At the far right, one patrol is at its assigned position close to a wooded
last two pictures are, Donald Mank, Waldonboro;; Kenneth Wotton,
Thomaston;; Howard Parker, Winslows Mills and James Favreau of
Rockland. (Photos by Cullen.)
At the armory, men checked in as civilians and
over their shoulders and moving on the double
Six patrols were sent out to cover strategic spots
along the landing strips, being carried to their
posts in trucks of the battery. Many moved into
the job with the experience of veterans in such
matters;; others followed the lead of the veterans
All over the state, other National Guard units
were active, taking up predetermined tasks-
even as they would in the event of an actual
attack.
The alert lasted for several hours and held
men in their positions far into the evening as
problems of defense were worked