'It doesn't feel real yet'

Image courtesy: Staff Sgt. Mike Alberts

One month ago in northern Iraq, an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter crashed near Mosul. Two accomplished pilots, Capt. Marcus Alford and Chief Warrant Officer Billie Grinder, were lost in a tragedy that shook many in Tennessee, where the 1/230th Air Cavalry Squadron of the state's National Guard is based.

While the fallen soldiers still loom large in the minds of many fellow troops, the military community finally has something to smile about today. The Knoxville News reports that hundreds of soldiers from the unit are arriving home in Tennessee after a year at war.

Among the returning soldiers was Capt. Jake May, who was welcomed home by his wife, Angie, and his two sons, Eli, 10, and 7-year-old Thomas - along with more than 70 family members and friends wearing red and white "Welcome Home Jake" T-shirts.

"It doesn't feel real yet," said May, an instructor pilot and platoon leader, as he was surrounded by the crowd within a crowd of supporters on the tarmac. "I had no idea (they would all be here.)"

According to the article, the 600 men and women bravely serving in the squadron flew almost 30,000 hours in Iraq. Alford and Grinder's deaths were the only casualties suffered by the unit, but as Maj. Gen. Max Haston said in February, we cannot forget their sacrifice.

"Words cannot express my extreme sorrow at the loss of these outstanding soldiers, and my heartfelt sympathy goes out to the families and friends of these valiant warriors. Tennessee has lost two brave volunteers who truly believed in what they were doing to ensure a free Iraq. We are still a nation at war and we must continue to keep our soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in our daily thoughts and prayers."