Vt. National Guard Mourn Soldier's Loss

Fellow Guardsman Remembers Fallen Soldier
Vt. National Guard Mourn Soldier's Loss

BRADFORD, Vt. -- A small town closely tied to the Vermont National Guard spent the Fourth of July mourning a lost soldier whose friends called him compassionate and kind.

Guardsman Ryan Pero shared more than just his first name with his friend, Spc. Ryan Grady, he also shared memories.

"Both of us had the first name Ryan, and there's a lot of Ryan's in this unit so all the Ryan's liked to hang out together, (and) him and I struck up a friendship," Pero said.

Grady was killed Friday outside Bagram Air Force Base when his convoy hit a very large IED.

Also with him were four other guardsman, all from the same Bradford unit and all injured in the attack.

Pero was supposed to be deployed with that unit, but a surgery held him back.
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