Family, friends - and strangers - welcome Spc. Reid Walch

By Kelsey Watts, KTVZ.COM

A 24-year-old Oregon National Guard soldier, wounded in an Iraq blast that killed two comrades, returned to his hometown of Redmond late Thursday night, quietly greeted by family, friends and several citizens who thanked him for his service and wished him well.

Spc. Reid Walch arrived on a flight from Seattle to Roberts Field shortly before midnight, to an emotional welcome from Susan Walch, who works at the airport and was allowed to meet him out on the tarmac.

Walch had been undergoing treatment and rehabilitation at Fort Lewis, Wash., since the explosion that occurred late last month.

Spc. Taylor D. Marks, 19, and a decorated veteran, Sgt. Earl D. Werner, 38, died when the convoy they were guarding was struck by an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, an armor-piercing explosive that turns into a projectile when detonated.

All three men were serving with the 41st Special Troops Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in Tigard.

Walch, who suffered shrapnel wounds, used a cane to slowly walk into the terminal, on the arm of his mother. He was greeted not only by friends and family as he walked through the airport, but strangers thanking him for his service.

"I just want to say hi," one man said. "I'm glad you're home, and I appreciate your service. So thank you. You have a good sleep tonight, alright?"

The 2003 graduate of Mountain View High School later moved to Redmond, where he worked in construction. Walch joined the Guard as a reserve soldier three years ago, and had only been in Iraq for a month when the powerful roadside bomb went off near his armored vehicle on Aug. 27.