Yesterday afternoon, 308 Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, TX came home after a 14-month deployment to Iraq.
The battalion suffered 28 combat deaths — soldiers who did not make it back home. Like Sgt. Jason Shaffer:
Katie Shaffer’s husband, Sgt. Jason Shaffer, was killed April 5 by an improvised explosive device. She traveled from Hood River, Ore., to attend Friday’s ceremony in search of closure, she said, but found herself looking for her slain husband in the throng of soldiers on the field.
“I wasn’t going to miss it because I made a promise to him and his men that I was going to be here,” she said, fighting tears. “I just wish he was here so I could welcome him home. … To see them all coming off the bus, I really wanted him to be here.”
This image of Katie yesterday is painful.
Go read the entire article by It talks about the things the newly returned soldiers are most looking forward to doing right away — drinking a beer, having a home cooked meal, buying a motorcycle (and joining the PGR, I hope), and seeing their children — many for the first time ever.
Welcome home brothers. Welcome home. And thank you for a job well done.
Welcome home and job well done, indeed!
The Bagpipes Are Cryin’!
Kaziah Hancock’s mission is not yet finished.
Left by no2liberals on December 1st, 2007 at 2:46 pm