Flags fly as soldiers return home

Lt. Col. Erik Kurilla wouldn't want this story to be about him, so we begin on Watkins Field, a parade ground on Fort Lewis. There, 4,000 troops of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division gathered in formation on Thursday for a time-honored military tradition: the unfurling of unit flags encased since the soldiers left Iraq last month.

The flags signify the soldiers are finally home.

As the top brass watched from a platform, cannons fired to salute the 34 who died during the yearlong deployment.

And then the injured came on the field. There were amputees and men with canes. One young man motored on an electric wheelchair, his arms unable to propel him. They watched as the banners were hung.

Standing with about 700 of his men was Kurilla, 39, the only commander to appear on crutches.

He did not come on the field with the other injured troops. He was with his unit all along, the highest ranking officer in the brigade to be wounded in combat.

Last August, Kurilla was shot in his arm and leg as he chased insurgents in Mosul, in northern Iraq. He was evacuated to Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma with a shattered femur and other wounds. It wasn't the first time he'd been shot. He took an earlier bullet in December.

After the flag ceremony, the entire brigade attended a base celebration, listening to country music, eating hamburgers and showing off 8-wheeled Stryker vehicles to children and parents.

Bruce Michaels, who turned 21 in Vietnam, came from North Dakota to be with his son, Doug, 25, a sergeant.

Bruce was drafted. Doug volunteered. Bruce was single when he served. Doug is married.

But they had one military experience in common, said Bruce: "I think it was being isolated, being away from home."

Despite all the attractions at the party soldier after soldier stopped by Kurilla on his crutches, introducing their commander to wives and mothers and children.

And more than one offered prayers.

"I take all prayers," he said with a grin.

Kurilla didn't want to talk about himself or his injuries. The real heroes, he said, were the young people who served under him and deserved recognition for their bravery and steadfastness.

For more than eight months, a blog written by independent journalist Michael Yon chronicled the battles, strategies and sorrows of Kurilla's unit, the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry, also known as Deuce Four.

Kurilla was portrayed as tough, dedicated and possessed with an uncanny ability to avoid enemy bullets.

In a harrowing series of photographs, Yon captures the moment Kurilla fell. The images along with Yon's narrative were posted on his Web site: http://michaelyon.blogspot.com.

Kurilla's recovery is going well. As for the Army's physical therapists: "I wear them out," he said.

And the war against Iraqi insurgents is likewise progressing, he and other commanders contended.

They said mortar attacks are down. People are coming forward to give information about insurgents. Iraqi armed forces are getting stronger.

But the troops are home now, and some are facing different troubles: divorce, depression, stress.

And while there is an extensive Army program to help soldiers cope, this, like the brigade's now completed first combat tour, is uncharted territory.

"I'll tell you in a year if it's a good program or not," Kurilla said. "They saw a lot of death out there."

Alex Fryer: 206-464-8124 or afryer@seattletimes.com