By Sgt. 1st Class Paul Meeker
241st Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
MYRTLE GROVE, La. -- A levee protecting pastureland and small communities in the Myrtle Grove area of Plaquemines Parish, La., ruptured during Hurricane Gustav, Sept. 1, 2008.
National Guard Chinook helicopters were commissioned to drop 500-pound sandbags into the 300-foot breach. Guardsmen teamed with Plaquemines Parish emergency operations personnel and workers from Hard Rock Construction Company to secure up to four sandbags at a time to the bellies of the Chinooks. Gov. Bobby Jindal reported on Sept. 4 that the breach was 50-percent filled and further erosion halted after 175 bags were dropped on Sept. 3.