“Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more.”

Taken from “Henry the Fifth,” the famous quotation is part of the king’s speech to rally his soldiers for an attack on the French town of Harfleur.

The king’s exhortation pushes his men forward, and it is often put to use now to elicit a renewed effort as part of a continuing fight.

For some members of the Maine National Guard and reserves, the language could be added to their arm patches. Once again, they have left family, friends, jobs and community behind to charge into the breach – this time in the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast.

Many of the soldiers heading south do so voluntarily. Motivated by a selflessness most uncommon, they are returning to duty less than a year after returning from the battlegrounds of Iraq.

Members of the 133rd Engineer Battalion left for New Orleans in three waves, which started Sunday. They will join other Maine servicemen and women already on station helping to rebuild a shattered city and region.

There’s no comparing the duty of serving in a combat zone with a mercy mission inside the United States. The tasks are different, the demands are different and the stakes are different. Three members of the 133rd were killed overseas – a whole different level of gravity.

After Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, much of the country felt compelled, on a deep-down level, to do something to help. For most of us, that meant writing a check, organizing a fund-raiser or giving blood – all important, but far from the uncertainty and sacrifice required to rush to the scene.

The soldiers who volunteered to return to duty so soon after a long ordeal in Iraq exemplify the ideals of service and duty. We are lucky to be able to call them our neighbors. They represent us well during difficult times and circumstances.