141st Engineer Battalion Comes to Ceremonial End After 53 Years of Service

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brett Miller | Lt. Col. Lee Nordin, battalion commander of the 231st Brigade Support Battalion,...... read more read more

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brett Miller | Lt. Col. Lee Nordin, battalion commander of the 231st Brigade Support Battalion, begins to roll the 141st Engineer Combat Battalion's colors, which are being held by Command Sgt. Maj. Joel Walsvik, senior enlisted Soldier in the 231st Brigade Support Battalion. The colors were then sheathed, marking the end of the 141st. Gov. John Hoeven and Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota National Guard adjutant general, watch from the stage.  see less | View Image Page

UNITED STATES

10.18.2008

Courtesy Story

North Dakota National Guard Public Affairs

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North Dakota National Guard

VALLEY CITY, N.D. — A sign of the changing Army operational environment, the 141st Engineer Combat Battalion came to an end during a Casing of the Colors Ceremony on Oct. 18, 2008. The battalion began April 15, 1955, and its Soldiers have served across the state and on numerous missions both stateside and around the world.

"North Dakota has a long, distinguished history of military service, and the 141st Engineer Combat Battalion was a prominent part of that heritage," said Gov. John Hoeven. "With this ceremony, we mark an end to an era in which generations of North Dakotans proudly wore the colors of the 141st and courageously responded when their state and nation called on them."

As the 141st Battalion's historic period of service ends, new units have sprung up across the state. The changes are part of the largest restructuring of the Army since World War II. Although change prompted the ceremony, it's the unit's history that was celebrated.

"The 141st's unit motto tells the story of this unit. 'Verba Pauca, Multa Facta': Our words are few, our accomplishments many. For more than five decades, Soldiers of the 141st Battalion have lived that motto," said Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota National Guard adjutant general. "Soldiers have improved their communities with civic projects, working on bridges and building a skate park. Soldiers have also served the state, helping to fight blizzards and recover from floods and tornados. And 141st Soldiers have served their country, deploying on missions around the world. In addition to a deployment to Iraq, 141st engineers have built roads and buildings in a vast array of countries, including the Solomon Islands, Germany, Honduras and post-hurricane Jamaica."

Some of the battalion's early history was captured at the ceremony when Retired Lt. Col. Bernard Wagner spoke. Wagner served as the 141st Battalion's executive officer when it began, and later commanded the battalion from April 1964 to May 1968. He talked about joining the Guard in 1938, claiming that he was 18 although he wasn't, in order to have money for college. Tuition at Valley City State was $16 then. Many memories followed in the next 40-some years in the Guard.

"It's the Soldiers that made the 141," he said. "... I could talk for hours about all of the friendships I've made in the Guard."

Command Sgt. Maj. Frank Brager covered the battalion's more recent history, having served as its senior enlisted Soldier during a deployment to Iraq from 2003-05. It was the unit's only combat deployment, although its legacy units have served in almost every major conflict. Brager took a moment to recognize the four Soldiers who were killed during that deployment: Spc. James Holmes, Spc. Phil Brown, Staff Sgt. Lance Koenig and Spc. Cody Wentz.

"We may case the colors and the 141 will become a memory," Brager said, "but these four men are more than memories. They live every day in my heart."

The Casing of the Colors Ceremony has a lengthy history. Military commands created distinctive "colors" — or flags — so that Soldiers would follow the correct unit into battle. The colors remain an important part of a unit's identity. During today's ceremony, the 141st Battalion's colors were cased by leadership in the new unit that is based in Valley City, where the 141st was headquartered for 53 years.

A unit's lineage remains with the city in which it served. As a result, the 141st Battalion traces its lineage to Company G of the Dakota Militia in Valley City, which was organized March 3, 1884. The lineage will now transfer to the new unit based in Valley City, the 231st Brigade Support Battalion.

Numerous other cities across the state have had a 141st Battalion presence over the past five decades. Companies and detachments have been in Bismarck, Bottineau, Cando, Carrington, Edgeley, Harvey, Hazen, Hettinger, Hillsboro, Jamestown, Linton, Lisbon, Mayville, Mott, Oakes, Rugby, Wahpeton and Wishek.