SIDNEY, Mont. - The remains of two North Dakota National Guard soldiers who were killed in action in Afghanistan last week are being returned home.
The remains of Sgt. 1st Class Darren Linde, 41, of Devils Lake, arrived at the Sidney, Mont., airport Sunday morning, Guard officials said. Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota adjutant general, along with N.D. National Guard senior leadership, met the plane Sunday.
Spc. Tyler Orgaard's remains are scheduled to arrive at the Bismarck airport today. Orgaard, 20, was from Bismarck.
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The remains of Sgt. 1st Class Darren M. Linde arrived Sunday about 11 a.m. MST at the Sidney, Mont., Sidney airport, shown in this photo by Spc. Jennifer Joyce. Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota adjutant general, along with North Dakota National Guard senior leadership traveled to meet the plane at Sidney.
Linde and Orgaard, both members of the 818th Engineer Company, were killed in action while conducting route clearance operations in Afghanistan Dec. 3, when an improvised explosive device struck their vehicle in southern Afghanistan. The 818th is headquartered in Williston with a detachment in Hazen.
According to Fulkerson Funeral Home in Sidney, funeral services for Linde, who grew up in Sidney, are scheduled for Tuesday at 1 p.m. MST in the Richland County Event Center in Sidney, with Lt. Col. David Johnson, state chaplain for the N.D. National Guard, officiating.
Visitation will be today from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. MST and Tuesday from 9 to 11 a.m. MST in the Fulkerson Memorial Chapel in Sidney.
Interment will be in the Sidney Cemetery with full military honors provided by the North Dakota National Guard Funeral Honors Team.
Funeral arrangements for Orgaard are pending with the Eastgate Funeral Service in Bismarck.
Spc. Ian Charles Placek, 23, Bismarck, who was wounded in the same attack, was listed in stable condition at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Guard officials said. He will go to Fort Riley, Kan., for further medical treatment and evaluation.