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Show Talmage Airman Aids In Missouri Floods When the ' greatest flood in modern history of the Missouri River threatened Omaha, Neb. I and Council Bluffs, la., recently with a crest of more than. 30 ft., Strategic Air Command personnel person-nel from Offutt Air Force Base performed rfhree important jobs to - help beat back the flood peril. Although SAC's mission, in war in conducting strategic air operations throughout the world to destroy an enemy's fighting potential. General Curtis E. Le-May's Le-May's command demonstrated its ' flexibility and peace-time usefulness during this emergency emergen-cy by supplying transport aircraft air-craft to haul supplies, photo reconnaissance re-connaissance planes to keep a close check on the river and manpower to strengthen and patrol pa-trol the levees. MSgt. Alma E. Sorensen, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Chris Sorensen, Sor-ensen, of Talmage, Utah, did his share as part of a tremendous tremen-dous pool of manpower needed to stem the flood. His normal duty is that of a clerk, surgeon's office, but Sgt. Sorenson filled sandbags and shovelled dirt on weakened levees during the emergency. A flood operations office was established at Offutt AFB, which is located just : outside Omaha, and 600 airmen and officers worked- on the levees for more than a week. The group was split into two 300-man 300-man units and each worked a 12-hour shift. Close to a million pounds of equipment was flown into the base, including cots, tents, blankets, blan-kets, generators, medical supplies, sup-plies, flood lighting equipment, life preservers, and rations for civilians and servicemen fighting fight-ing the swollen river. |