Article appeared October 1, 2005 on page 5A

I was called in early after news broke that five soldiers from the same New Milford unit were killed in Iraq. The deaths came less than two weeks after New Milford native William Evans was killed in Iraq. The recruiter in this story knew them all.

This article, as part of a news package, won first place for spot news coverage in the 2005-06 New York State Associated Press Association contest.

NEW MILFORD, Pa. - Sgt. 1st Class James Ditchey lost six brothers in a week.

As recruitment counselor for the past five years, Ditchey gets to know the soldiers and their families. He described the relationship with soldiers in the C Company of the 109th Infantry as "personal but professional."

"They just want to be part of something," he said, fighting back emotion. "They're all just like brothers."

Five soldiers from the New Milford-based company died Wednesday when an improvised explosive device destroyed their Bradley fighting vehicle in the Iraqi city of Ar Ramadi. For the Pennsylvania National Guard, it was the largest loss of life from a single attack since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The attack came eight days after Spc. William Evans of Hallstead, Pa., was killed in a battle in the same city.

In addition to his duties as a recruitment and retention officer, Ditchey said, he talks with soldiers about their futures, hopes and fears. He helps them plan the rest of their lives after the military. He helps them find jobs, secure money for college and advance through the ranks of the Army.

On Thursday, Ditchey learned that the futures of five of those soldiers had ended.

Ditchey, whose Nicholson home is 20 miles from the New Milford armory, knew all six soldiers. Through his job at the recruitment office in the New Milford Readiness Center, he had helped four of the five, as well as Evans, join the Guard.

Now, he's helping their families with funeral arrangements.

"When these are my kids - I brought them in the Guard - it's difficult," Ditchey said.

Ditchey was preparing to go to the calling hours for Evans on Thursday when he heard the news from the U.S. Department of the Army.

His first thought: "Oh my God."

On Friday, Ditchey, 35, stood in his uniform next to a line of fellow officers after a news conference at the New Milford Readiness Center. As a 17-year veteran of the Army and a soldier in the Gulf War, the father of three had seen his friends buried.

"We suffered losses," he said of his time in the Gulf War. "But never five at a time. It's just devastating."

Asked how he was handling the loss of six of his brother soldiers, he searched for words. Eventually, he said, he would have to deal with the losses.

It's something, he said, that "each soldier deals with in his own way."

"You stay numb," he said. "You just keep driving on as soldiers do."