Lakota warrior's descendants fight in Iraq

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http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071112/NEWS/711120328/1001

PIERRE - Two Pierre brothers, whose family traces back to a Lakota warrior who fought Custer at Little Bighorn, recently got a break from war.

Brendan Whitebird, 19, was home on leave from a deployment in Iraq. His big brother, Colin, 24, managed a four-day pass from Fort Lewis for a brief reunion with the rest of the family earlier this month.

"It was good to see him and everyone else," Brendan said. "It's nice to be able to get away for a little while."

A year ago at this time, Brendan was fresh out of Riggs High School and just finished jump school with the 173rd Airborne. He got some leave time before being shipped to Iraq for his first deployment and spent it in Pierre with his soldier brother.

Colin, a member of the 2nd Infantry Division, was home recovering from a bullet wound to the shoulder he suffered during what he described as a routine patrol of Baghdad streets, "if there were such a thing as routine there."