TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama National Guard soldiers responded quickly and proficiently in response to Governor Robert Bentley’s mobilization of the Alabama National Guard this week. The Guardsmen were mobilized to provide emergency assistance to areas of Alabama that were affected by the tornado Wednesday. Tuscaloosa, Ala., is one of the hardest hit areas in the state, and soldiers from the 31st Chemical Brigade in Northport, Ala., are some of the troops assisting with the cleanup.

The Crescent Ridge area of Tuscaloosa is almost unrecognizable. Houses are leveled, trailers are torn to pieces, personal belongings are scattered about and trees are uprooted. The devastation is widespread and soldiers are assisting by setting up traffic control points, removing debris and providing security patrols, among other support.

Sgt. Fadra Brown with the 31st Chem. Bde. is one of the more than 1,500 National Guard soldiers that has been activated in Alabama. Brown did not miss a beat in accomplishing her mission.

As soon as her boots hit the ground on Saturday she began assisting the Wooley family with searching for anything that could be salvaged from their home.

Brown was not the only Soldier from the 31st Chem. Bde. who helped this family sift through the rubble. Spc. Robert Boettner and Spc. Matthew Cole were part of the team that worked with the Wooley family.

“I dug through the wreckage, moved destroyed appliances and searched as far down as I could go,” said Cole. “I wanted to help them find as much as I could.”

Boettner dug a child’s bicycle out of the wreckage and took it to the family’s collection of recovered belongings they had in stacks next to a tree. This, among family photos and other keepsakes that were found, were the only mementos the family had to hold on to.

“You can replace a microwave or a stove, but you can’t replace the memories that pictures capture. That’s what I was looking for. Pictures they could hold on to,” Cole said.

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