At least two of the 18 fallen soldiers honored Thursday by President Barack Obama were from Louisiana.
The bodies of 24-year-old Sgt. Patrick Williamson of Broussard and 21-year-old Pfc. Brian Bates of Gretna were on the plane met early Thursday by the president at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Williamson's father, Leon "Buddy" Williamson, said Thursday that his son was among soldiers in the Army's 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, killed Tuesday in Afghanistan's Kandahar province.
Bates' name was on an Air Force list released Wednesday of soldiers whose families had authorized media coverage of a soldier's return. It did not list his unit. The family later reversed the decision.
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