John,
The strut ... which was held on only by sheet metal screws (this was my first time working with sheet metal, I even asked here for advice, and the re-mounting will be much better!) .... looks to have been pulled straight away from the wall. The only damage is to the screw holes. I will -maybe- learn more when I re-attach it
One thing that helps is to place the strut at the siding lap joints so that the screws are going through two pieces of siding.
Don
