Oregon Public Broadcasting

They were injured at war and sent home. But Thursday dozens of wounded warriors reunited with their fellow soldiers just back from Afghanistan. It happened at a formal welcome home ceremony for Washington's 5th Stryker Brigade.

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Watkins Field at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma. 3,500 members of the 5th Stryker Brigade stand in formation. The bleachers are packed with family and friends. And then comes the order:

Announcer: "Wounded Warriors, rejoin your ranks."

As the audience stands, soldiers in wheelchairs, on crutches and with canes start across the field. Some of these young, injured soldiers now move like old men -- their bodies badly broken.

They are soldiers like Staff Sgt. James Clark who lost his leg in an IED blast.

James Clark: "The first thing I did is try to stand up. Obviously fell right back down and that's when I looked down and saw my leg was gone. So from there it was just putting on tourniquets and waiting for the bird to come get me."

Clark says even in that moment he was more worried about another ambush and whether his fellow soldiers were okay.

239 5th Stryker Brigade soldiers were injured over the past year in Afghanistan. 37 lost their lives. Most to IED attacks early in the deployment.

Then there are the mental wounds of war.

Private First Class Ryan Eddy saw friends die and narrowly survived a blast himself. He says the transition home is already proving difficult.

Ryan Eddy: "I've had nightmares, I've had flashbacks. My air conditioner in my room was like shaking a little bit and it sounded like a helicopter and I thought I was back in a medevac chopper, so I was thinking like maybe this just like a dream. Maybe I'm not home."

Now that Eddy and his fellow soldiers are home they will get a much-needed break.

Many of the wounded warriors will return to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland to continue their treatment and rehabilitation.