Army Ranger deployed to deliver storied flag at Mud Hens game
7/4/2012
Ranger Kyle Bradley holds one of the flags he carried during deployments to Afghanistan. The Sylvania native will be presenting the flag 'With Valor' to the Fulton County Fireman's Association today at the Mud Hens game.
the blade/zack conkle
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Ranger Kyle Bradley holds one of the flags he carried during deployments to Afghanistan. The Sylvania native will be presenting the flag 'With Valor' to the Fulton County Fireman's Association today at the Mud Hens game.
As an Army Airborne Ranger, Kyle Bradley was deployed three times to Afghanistan and once to Iraq. Still, it's his deployment to the Toledo Mud Hens game today that has Specialist Bradley feeling nervous.
The 23-year-old Sylvania native will be throwing out a ceremonial first pitch before the 7 p.m. game and, more importantly, presenting a U.S. flag dubbed "With Valor" to the Fulton County Fireman's Association.
"With Valor" was one of two flags that had been draped over a steel beam salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and transported to Wauseon last summer by members of the Wauseon Fire Department. The flag also accompanied Kyle's older brother, Colby Bradley, on 33 missions in Afghanistan.
"This is a big deal for me. I think it's awesome," Kyle Bradley said. "Had I known about any of this — that Dawn [Hamer] was going to give Colby a flag and it would blow up to this magnitude — well, I'm real nervous about it."