N.H., Maine guardsmen at war in 2004 Army, Air Guard in Iraq, Afghanistan

CONCORD, N.H. – Hundreds of New Hampshire National Guard members spent 2004 at war, running convoys through mortar attacks; being hit by roadside bombs, rockets and ambushes; training a new police force in Iraq and army in Afghanistan; and helping rebuild two shattered countries.

Two died, more than three dozen were wounded, and dozens more were decorated for valor for risking their lives to save colleagues or civilians.

Spc. Mario Raymundo of Manchester won two Army Commendation Medals, one for rushing through mortar fire to aid wounded soldiers, the other for being selected from among more than 3,000 soldiers as the top mechanic of the month in Iraq.

Second Lt. Dan Newman of Merrimack earned a Commendation Medal for rushing through enemy fire to save a family trapped in a crossfire.

Many others were cited for exposing themselves to enemy fire to lead units out of ambushes, kill snipers and machine gunners, and help wounded colleagues.

They are part of the largest Guard and Reserve call-up since World War II. By year’s end, 910 of the Army and Air Guard’s 2,700 New Hampshire members were overseas, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another 110 left in December for training before heading to Iraq.

Guard Spc. Jeremiah Holmes, 27, of North Berwick, Maine, and Spc. Alan Burgess of Landaff were killed this year in Iraq. A former guardsman, Army Spc. Jeremy Regnier, 22, was killed in October. He was from Littleton.

Army Sgt. Randy Rosenberg, 23, of Berlin was killed in January, and Maine Lance Cpl. Adam Brooks, 20, of Manchester was killed in November.

In August, Air Guard Sgt. Dave Guindon, 48, of Merrimack killed himself a day after returning from combat in Iraq.

A sampling of e-mails from Iraq and Afghanistan shows the range of hostile and humanitarian missions that became routine for New Hampshire soldiers.

Members of the 172nd Infantry Regiment, in Iraq since March, helped retake Fallujah in November. Some fleeing insurgents landed in the 172nd’s sector.

Members of the 172nd led an attack through “intense rocket-propelled grenade and machine gun fire” and called in helicopter attacks that killed more than 20 insurgents, wrote Capt. Raymond Valas of Goffstown, commander of the regiment’s C Company.

“This action ultimately sealed off our company’s area and denied it as a route of escape for insurgents in Fallujah, to the delight of the local Iraqi people in our sector,” Valas wrote.

After months of searing heat in Iraq, Guard members reported breaking out their winter gear in December.

“We actually have started using heaters,” reported Lt. Ana Cutting of Concord, acting commander of the 744th Transportation Co. “We never thought we’d see that day.” Temperatures reached 120 degrees during the summer.

The 744th arrived in Iraq in March, driving supplies all over the country. During the year, the unit logged nearly 547,000 miles – more than a trip to the moon and back.

New Hampshire members of the headquarters unit, 197th Field Artillery, took special interest in the plight of a 14-year-old girl named Lamia. She had a 28-pound tumor in her abdomen, and, for 10 years, Iraqi doctors had treated her by draining fluid once a week.

With the help of Col. Mike McGandy of Manchester, Spc. Laurie Quick of Londonderry and Sgt. Roland Roberge of Concord, the unit won the trust of the girl’s family and arranged for tests and lifesaving surgery at a Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad.

“In the big scheme of things, this is a minor story, but for one young girl and her family, we like to think we did give them a brighter future,” wrote the commander, Col. James Guise of Arizona.

Military police officers from the 2nd Battalion, 197th Field Artillery, were posted atop a police headquarters to protect police trainees. They also have helped train more than 3,000 Iraqi officers at various police academies.

Seventeen members of the 3rd Brigade, Combat Service Support Team, trained Afghan soldiers. In August, they teamed up with Afghan army soldiers to help stop fighting between two local warlords. After a couple of weeks, one left and relinquished power. The second refused, leading to violent demonstrations in Herat. U.N. buildings were torched and troops came under fire.