Area battalion returns from Iraq

September 7, 2007 at 10:34p.m.

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — “Welcome home, warriors!”

That was the greeting 23 members of the 1st Battalion, 107th Field Artillery received during a standing ovation as they returned to their headquarters here after a yearlong tour in Iraq.

“We are very proud of you,” Lt. Col. Grey Berrier II, battalion commander, told his soldiers Friday after they arrived from Fort Dix, N.J., to the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Armory.

Actually, the 23 were away from home for about 16 months because they received training before their tour began.

Since February 2004, when the battalion first deployed, five members have been killed and 19 wounded in Iraq.

Berrier told the returnees’ families and friends, “You have sacrificed a lot. Now, I’m asking you to take care of them.”

For the complete story, see Saturday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.