SAVANNAH - About 200 Rangers from Hunter Army Airfield returned Friday from a three-month deployment in Afghanistan, where three members of their regiment were killed. <br>
<br>
The soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment left late in December for Operation Enduring Freedom. <br>
<br>
``It's our job. We did what we were supposed to do,'' Sgt. Ryan Cleckner said. ``I was doing what I signed up to do.'' <br>
<br>
Cleckner, of Phoenix, enjoyed fighting against members of the Taliban and Al-Qaida. <br>
<br>
``Some people wait their whole careers to go into combat, and I got to go before the end of my first enlistment,'' he said. ``You can only train for the game so long before you want to play in it.'' <br>
<br>
The three soldiers were killed March 4 when their MH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down. Cpl. Matthew A. Commons, 21, of Boulder City, Nev., was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Spc. Marc A. Anderson, 30, of Brandon, Fla., and Sgt. Bradley Crose, 22, of Orange Park, Fla., were buried in separate funerals in Florida. <br>
<br>
``To me, it was a tremendous loss,'' Staff Sgt. Paul Taylor said. ``I knew they died doing what they wanted to do, so I was kind of comforted by that.'' <br>
<br>
While in Afghanistan, the Rangers were given one 10-minute phone call each week. Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Dillingham used one of his to make sure his wife cooked shrimp for his homecoming dinner. <br>
<br>
``It was an honor to be a part of a historical event of his proportion,'' he said. ``Only two or three times a century do we get to fight the enemy on the battlefield and beat them.''
http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/4/196476
© Copyright 2015 AccessNorthGa.com
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.