A Ft. Carson soldier's fiancee received a package in the mail with an engagement ring - just hours after learning that her love had been killed in Iraq, his family said.
"He had proposed over the phone from Iraq within the past month," said the soldier's brother, Ivan Ryndych. "He bought an engagement ring over the Internet." Ryndych, who was born in Ukraine and immigrated to New York City as a teenager, was on his second tour of duty in Iraq, his brother said. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion based at Fort Carson, Colo.
Ivan Ryndych said his brother had gone on to a special-forces unit after his first tour in Iraq ended last year. But he volunteered to rejoin his old unit when it headed back to Iraq, his brother said.