Citizens in Time of
Peace,
Soldiers
in Time of Need
The highly trained and motivated volunteer
citizen-soldiers / aviators of the Nebraska National Guard stand
ready to defend the United States
at home and abroad when mobilized by the President. At other
times they respond to, and aid recovery from, emergencies or
natural disasters within Nebraska, when called upon by the governor.
Since September 11, 2001, the men and women
of the Nebraska Army and Air National Guard have made remarkable
contributions and extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of their
state and nation during the Global War on Terrorism.
These are
their stories.
|
Major
General Roger Lempke (ret.)
The newspaper line was, you've got these poor guardsmen who
had signed up because they could get an education and now they're
being called off to war and they're going to have to carry a
rifle. I never had anybody come up to me and say, "This
isn't fair, I didn't sign up to do this." What I did hear
was, "I signed up, period, and I'm going to do my commitment."
That's what I heard and I heard it consistently.
--Major General Roger Lempke, Nebraska Adjutant General.
Oral interview with Maj. Gen. Roger
Lempke
| All of the quotes in the exhibit came from oral history interviews conducted by
2nd Lieutenant Russell Willbanks of the Nebraska National Guard,
questionnaires developed by the NSHS and completed by the soldiers,
or personal conversations. |
Map highlighting countries where the Nebraska Army
and Air National Guard personnel featured in this exhibit were
deployed.
As of August 7, 2007, some 3,600 men and
women were enrolled in the Nebraska Army National Guard and 940
in the Nebraska Air National Guard, for a total of 4,540. Since
September 11, 2001, about 3,200 have been mobilized as part of
the operations that make up what the Bush administration has
termed, "The Global War on Terrorism."
