DERRY — Sadness accompanied the first leg of Sgt. Abel Emanuelli's flight home as the plane left Camp Salerno Afghanistan with two coffins.
Emanuelli, 26, on his way home to Derry for three weeks leave, and the other soldiers were given the choice of taking another flight. But no soldier would do anything but fly with their fallen soldiers and show them respect, he said.
Respect for and protecting fellow troops is important to Emanuelli, a sergeant in the New Hampshire Army National Guard.
It is important enough that he might re-enlist and continue a military career. He returns to Afghanistan next month. The Pinkerton Academy graduate also has plans to go to the University of Southern New Hampshire in January. He wants to open his own restaurant some day.
He has yet to decide which path he will follow. He is due to return home in December and his Army National Guard enlistment ends in the spring.
For now, Emanuelli is one of about 120 soldiers in Charlie Company, part of the 3rd Battalion, 172nd Mountain Division.
The two coffins aboard the transport plane carried the bodies of two soldiers from his battalion. They were from Vermont and Connecticut, and were killed in firefights elsewhere in Afghanistan.
"It stinks because we are sister units," he said.
Emanuelli is one of two team leaders in a 10-soldier squad, part of a 30-soldier platoon. The three platoons in the company have not lost any soldiers since their deployment in January.
"My company has been very lucky, so I thank God for that," Emanuelli said.
He was eating breakfast Friday at MaryAnn's Diner in Derry, but only finished half his plate because his stomach has shrunk during his time in Afghanistan. He's lost 20 pounds since, down to about 169 pounds since he deployed.
His company has patrolled Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan, a province of about 500,000 people. They also train Afghan army troops in the Paktia region, mountains and valleys near Pakistani tribal areas. Their mission is to keep the province Taliban free. It is a hard mission, he said. You don't always know who the Taliban are unless they are shooting at you.
Unlike his previous deployment with the National Guard, in Iraq 2007, where he provided security, he and fellow Guard soldiers go on combat missions in Afghanistan.
He said they are well trained and look out for each other, so he is confident in their safety.
Emanuelli's mother, Jane Lockard, said she is proud of her son and recognizes his strong regard for his fellow troops.
"The welfare of his men is more important than his own life," she said.
Still, she does not want him to re-enlist and have to deploy in the future.
"I don't want him to re-up, I don't," Lockard said. "I want him to have a long, happy, healthy life."
Emanuelli's brother, Luis, 24, is proud of his brother and sends him care packages with chewing tobacco, socks, foot powder and other hard-to-get items.
Luis, who just graduated from Plymouth State University with a degree in social work, didn't have much money as a student. He put aside what he could to send those packages to his brother.
"He's definitely a hero to me, he is definitely about protecting the soldiers," Luis Emanuelli said. "He believes in his job."
Still, the younger brother worries about how his brother will adjust when he is home for good.
Emanuelli has been in numerous firefights and been knocked unconscious by an improvised explosive device. On April 17, he was walking in front of an armored vehicle, scanning the road for danger, when the vehicle's plow-like extension struck a buried bomb, knocking Emanuelli off his feet and unconscious.
He said he only remembers regaining consciousness a few minutes later and being helped by fellow soldiers. He was flown by helicopter to a hospital, where he spent several days before returning to his company.
In the two days he had been home on Friday, he had visited family and friends, and played soccer.
On Thursday, he went to lunch with his best friend outside the military, Jessica Richards, who he has known since they were 7. Richards, who regularly talks with Emanuelli, knows he's torn about whether to re-enlist or follow his dream of owning a restaurant.
He has become even more dedicated to his troops since his close call in April.
"It will be hard for him to walk away," she said.
Richards and his family members care most for Emanuelli's safety, but she said she wants him to do what is best for him and his long-term goals.
He's going back and forth over whether the military or a restaurant will be his career.
Emanuelli said, for now, he is enjoying his remaining two weeks of leave. If he does re-enlist, he said he would prefer that it include deployments.
"That would make me want to enlist even faster," he said.
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