Rhonda Holmes, of Peoria, Ariz., traveled 1,500 miles to attend a reunion of the North Dakota National Guard's Company C of the 141st Engineer Combat Battalion, which mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom II from December 2003 through February 2005. She is flanked July 24, in Bismarck, , by former unit members Lt. Col. Ralph “Rusty” Romans (left) and Staff Sgt David “DJ” Rohrich. Holmes’ son, Spc. James J. Holmes, died May 8, 2004, of wounds he received when an improvised explosive device detonated near the Humvee he was driving May 3. Spc. Holmes, an Arizona native, was attending the Univ
Rhonda Holmes, of Peoria, Ariz., traveled 1,500 miles to attend a reunion of the North Dakota National Guard's Company C of the 141st Engineer Combat Battalion, which mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom II from December 2003 through February 2005. She is flanked July 24, in Bismarck, , by former unit members Lt. Col. Ralph “Rusty” Romans (left) and Staff Sgt David “DJ” Rohrich. Holmes’ son, Spc. James J. Holmes, died May 8, 2004, of wounds he received when an improvised explosive device detonated near the Humvee he was driving May 3. Spc. Holmes, an Arizona native, was attending the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment but volunteered to deploy to Iraq with the 141st. From March 2004 to February 2005, the 141st Engineer Combat Battalion performed “Trailblazer” missions in Iraq, maintaining clear and safe roadways for and coalition forces. The 141st is credited with clearing more than 300 IEDs during that mission. In addition to Holmes, three other battalion soldiers were killed in action: Spc. Phil Brown, Staff Sgt. Lance Koenig and Spc. Cody Wentz. ND National Guard Trailblazers come together for reunion 435529
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Photo credit: © PJF Military Collection / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: armed, conflict, forces, gathering, meeting, military, reunite, states, united, war
