Fort Hood soldiers return from Iraq

[TexasStooge]

By ED TIMMS / The Dallas Morning News

KILLEEN, Texas – Fort Hood's 4th Infantry Division celebrated a homecoming on Thursday with military pageantry, top-name entertainment and a carnival – but was still mindful of comrades who will never return to their families and soldiers with other units who still face hazardous duty in Iraq.

The division served as the core of "Task Force Ironhorse" – in all, more than 30,000 troops – which operated in one of the most volatile regions of Iraq for about a year.

"Not only were you courageous and relentless in battle, you represented so well the true values of the American people as you undertook the stabilization and rebuilding of one of the most dangerous areas in Iraq," acting Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee said.

The task force played a critical role in the capture of Saddam Hussein, whose reversal of fortunes forced him to exchange a palatial lifestyle for more austere accommodations in a spider hole. It captured in excess of 11,000 enemy prisoners, more than 94,000 tons of ammunition and $5 million in currency stashed away by Iraqi loyalists.

Those successes, however, came at a cost. A total of 79 soldiers in the task force, including more than 50 who served with the 4th Infantry Division, were killed. And hundreds more were wounded.

Among those who attended Thursday's homecoming were young soldiers bearing the scars of shrapnel wounds, soldiers who'd lost part of their hearing to the blast of a rocket propelled grenade or an improvised bomb, and family members of soldiers who died in Iraq.

Ed Wright, a retired sergeant first class and Vietnam veteran, came to the homecoming to honor his son, Spc. James C. "Jimmy" Wright, who was killed when his military convoy was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons on Sept. 18.

After watching the military ceremony that symbolized the formal homecoming of the troops, Mr. Wright said he had mixed emotions.

"You feel very bad that your son didn't come home," said Mr. Wright, who lives in the Cincinnati area. "A lot of other people didn't come home, but you also have to feel happiness...that all these troops that were standing here did come back."

Mr. Wright spent part of the day talking with soldiers who served with his son in G Troop, 10th Cavalry, a light reconnaissance unit.

"It's a great relief to me that I had a chance to meet with the guys who were with Jimmy," he said. "It answered some questions for us. Jimmy didn't suffer."

[Stephanie]

I saw that on the news last night. It was neat the way they had them run in the room - almost like the beginning of a football game when the team runs out on the field. I'm so happy for them!