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BASRA, Iraq (WCCO) ― For the past four days, WCCO-TV anchor Don Shelby and photographer Tom Aviles have been reporting from Iraq, where the Minnesota National Guard's 34th Red Bull Infantry Division commands all forces in half of the country.

For Shelby and Aviles, there are so many stories to tell from Iraq, but in a war zone, the one story you cannot avoid is the awful moment when a comrade in arms is killed. Seventeen Minnesota National Guard soldiers have died since the action began in 2001.

At Contingency Operating Base Basra, you are never far from a reminder of those losses.

One of the first things you notice on this base in southern Iraq is the street signs. They bear the full names of National Guard soldiers killed in the war.

The chaplain of Minnesota's 34th Infantry Division is Lt. Col. John Morris of Afton, Minn.

"The first thing we do is we never forget. We never forget. And those signs are a symbol of what's etched in the hearts of every one of their comrades," said Morris. "Many of us, and I think a lot of us that have been here on several tours, you'll see that we're wearing the names of loved ones soldiers that we've fought with who died here. We all have some kind of a memento that we're wearing in honor of those who paid the ultimate price."

There is another symbol over by the 34th Military Police Company; three of them, in fact. The crosses mark the spot where three Minnesota National Guard soldiers were killed by a rocket attack on the base July 16.

The soldiers: Specialists Carlos Wilcox of Cottage Grove, James Wertish from Olivia and Daniel Drevnick of Woodbury.

The deaths hit Lt. Philip Jergeson very hard. He is the commander of the police company. He is also a Minnesota State Patrol officer in Hennepin County's west metro.

"The soldiers in our company that feel this loss on a daily basis will never forget these people so to put up a sign or name buildings after them is a very big honor and we appreciate it but my goal and hope would be that when we get back that these three soldiers who gave their lives for this country will be remembered back in the civilian world as well," said Jergeson.

The commander, in fine military leadership bearing, had to announce the deaths of the company's three comrades. He told his troops to keep eating, drink lots of water, stay fit and healthy. They would need all of those things to process their grief and continue the mission.

"We feel the pain deeply, we shed tears, we mark the passing of these great people and we're changed. We are profoundly changed. And I think what people experience then when they encounter veterans of all wars is, politics aside, it's personal for us because we all know somebody who didn't get to come back. And in this case it's Minnesotans and ... that changes you," said Morris.

No matter how hard the Minnesota 34th Red Bull Infantry Division is working to keep the peace here in southern Iraq, there are still attacks. One rocket struck a week ago, just 52 feet from where Shelby and Aviles are quartered.

On Tuesday night, there was an alert on the base that radar had picked up an incoming missile. It later turned out to be a false reading.

But Shelby and Aviles' Minnesota National Guard escorts hustled them to a hardened bunker near by. When the sirens go off, just to be safe, all base personnel wear armor and get into concrete, open-ended boxes. It was, to say the least, unsettling to think a rocket was headed their way.

But the soldiers in the bunker reacted calmly. They were the smart ones. They go through this from time to time. But there were no blasts and after an hour in the bunker, the base defense speaker blaring the welcome news.

These Minnesota National Guard soldiers have only three months left on their tour and we hope they come home to their families, communities and state, at full strength. No more losses.

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