FLORENCE — A cheering crowd welcomed home members of the 133rd Military Police Company Sunday at Veterans Park in Florence.

The S.C. National Guard unit deployed 170 soldiers to Afghanistan in November 2011. Seven months later, the unit lost three men in a suicide bomb attack. Five others were injured.

Two of the men who died, Lt. Ryan Rawl and Sgt. J.D. Meador, were from Lexington. Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Bradford Thomas of Easley also died in the attack.

“Our five are still healing,” company commander Capt. David Bryant told the crowd, according to a report in The State. “And our three, who gave everything they had … May we live the rest of our lives honoring them in everything we do.”

A memorial service to honor Rawl, Meador, Thomas and 23 other soldiers killed in action in the past year was planned for Monday. 

The day Rawl, Meador and Thomas died was the bloodiest day of the Afghan war for the S.C. National Guard, according to The State. 

Since operations began in Iran and Afghanistan in 2002, 91 South Carolinians have been killed.

See also: 

• Sgt. Meador Honored by Public, Friends, Strangers
• Huge Crowd Gathers to Honor 1st Lt. Ryan Rawl