ALTOONA, BLAIR COUNTY - The National Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade deployed for Iraq last January.
About 700 of those soldiers are from our area.

It's been a tough year for many of the families left behind especially when a hometown hero is injured.

That's what happened to one Altoona family. Two brothers, Sergeants Matthew and Jon Gibbons both deployed to Iraq last January.
Just a few short weeks into their mission Matthew was hurt in a grenade attack.

The attack happened last February. It severely hurt Sergeant Gibbons, injuring his face and arm.

It was shocking news for the whole family, especially his brother and fellow soldier Sergeant Jon Gibbons. Jon's wife Rachael remembers getting the phone call. She says she never thought something like that would ever happen to anybody she knew, and when it happened to her brother-in-law it made her worry about her husband Jon.

Right now Jon is still over seas working in Kuwait, but he’s scheduled to come home in the next several weeks.

Rachael says Matthew is still recovering from his injuries.