Decorated soldier returning home
By TOM RAFFERTY
Bismarck Tribune

First Lt. Bryan Diede could have easily left Iraq for good in 2004 and no one would have questioned his honor as a Marine.

Instead, he decided to postpone a surgery on his hand that was shot so he could return to help his fellow soldiers.

Diede, who was raised mostly in Bismarck, returned this week to visit family and attend his sister's college graduation in Grand Forks.

Although the 30-year-old marine received the Silver Star for protecting his friends in an ambush, he said he didn't deserve the honor because he was just doing his duty. During the ambush, he positioned his armored vehicle in front of another that was struck by a rocket propelled grenade. One Marine died in the ambush. Diede also received a Purple Heart for the injuries he received.

In his eyes, he did what any Marine would have done to protect a fellow soldier.

"It's not about self preservation," Diede said. "They are fighting over there for their buddies."

Diede's had surgery on his hand in July 2005. His second tour in Iraq began in August 2005. He recently signed up for another two-year hitch in the Marines and he doesn't really know when he will return home for good. He will leave for Iraq on Thursday.

Marines are often the first to fight when it comes to war, which can make it one of the more challenging branches of the armed services. That's what attracted Diede to the Marines.

"It was always the challenge of it; just to see if Icould do it,"Diede said.

He signed up for the Marines right after high school, completed four years of service and then took a break for a few years to get a degree at the University of North Dakota. After graduating from college he returned to the Marines and became an officer.

Most recently, he was an executive officer second in command to a group of 130 soldiers. His job when he returns will be focused on training others.

Diede said the training Marines received seems to automatically kick in after the fear leaves during battle.

"It's a feeling of sheer terror at first," Diede said of the ambush.

(Reach reporter Tom Rafferty at 223-8482 or tom.rafferty@;bismarcktribune.com.)

Ellie