Jul 19, 2007 10:30 am US/Central
Last Of 'Red Bulls' Back On U.S. Soil
Camp Douglas, Wis. (AP) ―
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Todd Hauch of Bloomington, Minn. walked into the open arms of his wife, kids and family.
Photo from Kari Johnson
The last of 2,600 Minnesota National Guard soldiers are back on U.S. soil after more than a year in Iraq.
The last contingent of 270 Iraq War veterans arrived on Wednesday at Camp Douglas, Wis.
Almost all waited in a single-file line from the plane to again see Sgt. John Kriesel, who was waiting on the tarmac for them.
Kriesel lost portions of both legs in a Dec. 2 roadside bombing in Iraq that killed two of his closest friends. He stood waiting on two prosthetic shins.
Staff Sgt. Tim Nelson, 27, of Bemidji, Minn., couldn't wait in line. He jumped ahead and hugged his old roommate in Iraq.
Nelson was sitting in the vehicle behind Kriesel when the December explosion occurred, and hadn't seen him since he held his hand for hours in a military hospital.
"It was still touch and go," said Nelson, his bottom lip quivering as he recalled the aftermath of the blast, which killed Spc. Bryan McDonough, 22, of Maplewood, Minn. and Spc. Corey Rystad, 20, of Red Lake Falls, Minn.
The members of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division had been deployed for 22 months -- including 16 months in Iraq.
The Red Bulls were supposed to be gone 18 months, but their deployments were extended. The Red Bulls served longer in combat than any other Minnesota unit since World War II and were the longest-serving U.S. military unit of the Iraq War.
On Wednesday, after the group moved to the hangar and deposited their weapons, they turned their attention to Maj. Gen. Rick Erlandson, the division commander, for his official welcome.
He told them the length and quality of their service made history. He told them to remember that, not matter what the critics of the war say in the future.
He also told them to accept that they had been changed by their experience, and that they may never get back to "normal." Instead, they'll adjust to a "new normal."
"Take it slow. Take it one step at a time," Erlandson told them. "Understand and accept the fact that your loved ones have changed and you have changed."
With that, the troops boarded the buses to take them to nearby Fort McCoy, where they will remain for another week before their final trip home. Most live in northwestern Minnesota
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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