Broken Arrow Marine unit returns home

Thursday, October 6th 2005, 10:49 am

By: News On 6

A plane load of US Marines are back home in Oklahoma. 17 members of the 325th out of Broken Arrow returned to Oklahoma from Iraq Thursday afternoon. The homecoming was bittersweet; one of their buddies didn't make it back.

News on 6 reporter Heather Lewin says what they'd dreamed of for seven long months finally came true for all, except one.

Katrina Graham, whose son was killed in Iraq: "It was very hard in the beginning to realize he wouldn't come off of that plane, but when I looked around and saw all those men and how happy this should be, that was all I could feel."

25-year old Sgt James Graham was killed by a suicide bomber on August 1st. This celebration should've been his homecoming too. â€œThis is where Jay would've wanted us to be. These are his men, this is his unit and he wouldn't have wanted us to be anywhere else but supporting his men.â€

Men like US Marine Lance Corporal Josh Brinkman, a long-awaited sight for the eyes of his family, including his 93-year old great-grandmother.

Joshâ€™s mom, Janet Brinkman: "Proud, so proud." Joshâ€™s dad, Tim Brinkman: "Beyond words, just knowing what the 325's been through. These kids, they're still youngsters and this was a tough go."

Lance Corporal Josh Brinkman: "All you have is pictures to look at while you're over there, you don't have anything to hug onto."

Happy to be home. It's a day of mixed emotions for Brinkman and the others, who can't forget their fallen brother. "He's a great guy. I've served with him for going on 3 and a half years. It was a tragic loss but he's near and dear to the hearts of everybody here and we're going to keep on remembering him through our efforts and stuff." In Iraq, the unit checked supply routes for explosive devices every day.

Lance Corporal Josh Brinkman says the best part about being home is just being able to relax and not have to worry about anything.