First wave of paratroopers return to N.C.

[unhappycamper]

First wave of paratroopers return to N.C.
By Kevin Maurer - The Fayetteville Observer
Posted : Saturday Feb 2, 2008 15:04:05 EST

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Ashley Hoskinson wore her husband’s rings for a year on a thick chain around her neck.

She never took them off. The weight of the chain was a constant reminder of her husband, a Black Hawk helicopter mechanic.

But now, only minutes away from his return, she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to give them up.

“It has now become a part of me,” she said, holding her 2-year-old son, Carter.

Hoskinson was one of hundreds of family members who greeted about 350 paratroopers from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade on a Thursday morning in January at Pope Air Force Base. The unit completed a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_paratroopersreturn_080202/