Latvian trio relishes some R&R far from the front lines

The first explosion came just after dawn Oct. 3, splitting the silence at Combat Outpost Keating in a remote corner of Afghanistan. For Minnesotan Eric Harder, it would be one of the most difficult days of his life as hundreds of Taliban fighters surrounded the compound and bombarded American, Afghan and Latvian soldiers for hours.

Outnumbered and fearing the Taliban would overrun them, many of the Afghan soldiers fled. Eight Americans from 3-61 Cavalry Bravo Troop were killed that day, and 22 were wounded, including Harder, who took shrapnel in his leg. About 150 Taliban were killed.

It was one of the most ferocious battles in Afghanistan, and while the Afghans abandoned a fight for their own country, the small group of Latvians had the Americans' backs.

On Sunday, three Latvian soldiers gobbled meatballs at the Richfield American Legion as a small group gathered to thank them for their war support. The Latvians were exhausted and sunburned from a weekend at a cabin near Brainerd, where they and their American colleagues got a chance to forget about war for a few days and focus on a much less fearsome adversary: the Minnesota walleye.

Capt. Agris Liebins beamed like a kid in his new Minnesota Twins T-shirt as he talked about his weekend Up North.

"Excellent," he said in a clipped Baltic accent. "I caught the biggest fish in my life, four L-B-S. The northern pike."

The trip to Minnesota has been the passion of a dedicated mother determined to reward the Latvians for looking out for her son, Eric Harder.

The issue caught the attention of the Minnesota Latvian community, which numbers about 2,000. Girts Jatnieks, of the local Latvian welfare organization Daugavas Vanagi, said his members wanted to show the strong bonds between the countries by supporting the soldiers.

Over the next several months, Henry raised about $15,000 through donations, ranging from $5 to $500, to pay for plane flights and expenses. One reader, Peter Palmer, called Henry to offer the use of his cabin in the event she was successful in raising the money. Palmer supplied all the food and fishing gear for the weekend.

"This has been an amazing process that has taught me that 'Support the Troops' for many people is more than just a bumper sticker!" Henry wrote on her Web page.

The Latvians flew to Colorado first and visited Pikes Peak and took in a Colorado Rockies game before heading to northern Minnesota for fishing. On Monday, the soldiers (Liebins, Cpl. Martins Dabolins and Sgt. Janis Lakis) and their families got to see the Mall of America.

Harder, whose Afghan mission is over, for now, doesn't know whether he'll have to go back, but if he does, he's ready.

"We spent so much crappy time together in a very bad place, we were really looking forward for some free time together," Harder said.

Free time without the searing heat and the threat of incoming rockets, without the fatigue of battle and the stress of war.

Lakis, 36, joined the Latvian military when he was 18. He doesn't know where he will be stationed next, but like soldiers everywhere, "if my captain says I go, I do what he says."

Lakis, wearing a Minnesota Vikings shirt, said his "best friends supported us in Afghanistan and then here, and even when we maybe have a headache after a couple of beers," he said.

Monday afternoon, a tired Henry had escorted the Latvians through the MOA as they looked for blue jeans. "It's been so worthwhile," she said. "They really feel like they made new friends, and they really were surprised at how much people support our military here. My only regret is that we couldn't keep them longer."