Veterans Month
November 2003
NS Veterans Remember
Dan Motley
Manager industrial development
Roanoke
I enlisted in the Navy right out of high school. My service began in a Naval Mobile Construction Battalion - better known as the Seabees - where I continue to serve today.
This part of the Navy undertakes construction projects all over the world. As part of the forces deployed for Operation Desert Shield in 1990, we built camps for arriving troops. We also built airfields and a 500-bed hospital in Saudi Arabia.
As tensions grew on the political scene, more troops and equipment arrived. We'd frequently hear sirens going off, artillery fire and tanks moving around us. President George Bush had made it clear to the Iraqis that his "line in the sand" was a serious deadline.
I was the Officer of the Day on Jan. 15, 1991, the day the United Nations resolution deadline expired. I waited, but nothing happened. However, just after midnight the following day, I awoke to the sound of the first attack on Iraqi targets. Desert Storm had begun.
We ran to our bunkers, grabbing our chemical suits as we left. We had no idea what we'd be dealing with in terms of chemical warfare, so we played it safe. Scud missiles were shooting over our heads, and we knew what we trained for had started. It was the first of many "take cover" actions.