Sgt. Zachary A. Darras will soon be back in the United States following a 15 month deployment in Iraq. Sgt. Darras was deployed in April of 2007 as part of the troop surge in Iraq. He came home for an 18-day visit in October to spend some time with his family and friends before returning to Iraq.

Among his many accomplishments while serving in Iraq, Sgt. Darras, acting as a fires officer, helped coordinate multiple air assaults. These actions ultimately destroyed the enemy, with zero civilian or coalition force casualties. His efforts assisted in the destruction of buildings being used by Al-Qaida IED makers. Sgt. Darras was also instrumental in the evaluation of two injured Soldiers during an operation. He expertly coordinated the movements of platoons, an AWT and the Medevac aircraft. During this time he remained calm and collected, and allowed for the quick dissemination of information between platoons that were spread out across the battlefield. His family thinks he is a hero, he says, "I was just doing my job."

Sgt. Darras is currently serving with Task Force 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade 2nd Infantry Division Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Ft. Lewis, WA.

Zachary will be arriving in Oklahoma for a month long visit in July. He will be welcomed home by his proud family, mother Debra Lafon of Tahlequah, brothers Malan Darras of Tulsa, Benjamin Darras of Mississippi, sister Rachel Darras of Tahlequah and nephew Malan Cline of Tahlequah as well as many other relatives and friends.

Pvt. Ory Patrick- Ory will be on leave here at home for 15 days. He is with the 45th Oklahoma National Guard serving in Irag this year. His mother, Rhonda Patrick Stoneburner and Stepfather Joe, and Grandpa John & Goldie Patrick and Church family, Philadelphia Bible will all be glad to have him home for visit and then return home for good. We are so proud & thankful for God's protection on all our troops!