Lt. Col. Erik Kurilla wouldn't want this story to be about him, so we begin on Watkins Field, a parade ground on Fort Lewis. There, 4,000 troops of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division gathered in formation on Thursday for a time-honored military tradition: the unfurling of unit flags encased since the soldiers left Iraq last month. The flags signify the soldiers are finally home. As the top brass watched from a platform, cannons fired to salute the 34 who died during the yearlong deployment. And then the injured came on the field. There were amputees and men with canes....
