Hometown Salutes Pilot Shot Down, Seized by Somali Warlord’s Forces : Military: State dignitaries at parade, rally in blue-collar city. Army warrant officer hero mourns the loss of 18 of his comrades.

His injuries are healing, but Army helicopter pilot Michael Durant says the pain of knowing 18 soldiers died fighting with him remains.

“I think about those guys every day, and I realize how fortunate I am,” he said at a news conference Sunday at Berlin High School, his alma mater. “They died doing what they loved best. The fact that they aren’t here anymore is a sad thing for me and their families.”

Durant’s hometown, a blue-collar city in northern New Hampshire, held a rally and its biggest-ever parade for him Sunday.

Several thousand people lined Main Street to watch Durant and his wife, Lorrie, ride by in a horse-drawn carriage. New Hampshire’s entire congressional delegation was on hand for a rally in the Berlin High School gym.

“What he represents is what’s best about Americans--good people trying to do good things,” Republican Sen. Judd Gregg said.

Durant, in his Army uniform, was also accompanied at the rally by his 1-year-old son, Joey, and parents, Leon and Louise.

“You’ve given us more than a homecoming celebration, you’ve given us memories that we will carry forever,” said Durant, who joined the Army after graduating from high school in 1979.

Durant, 32, injured his spine and broke his right thigh when Somali warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid’s forces shot down his combat helicopter on Oct. 3. A mob broke some bones in Durant’s face while he lay on the ground, and he was shot once in the arm while in captivity.

Durant wears a back brace and limps, but he said he expects to fully recover from his injuries within a year. Whether he will fly again for the military won’t be known for some time, he said.

Durant said he understands Somali anger over Operation Restore Hope.

“There were unnecessary losses on both sides,” he said. “It’s a difficult situation fighting in an urban environment; nobody’s wearing uniforms, everybody’s got a gun. I’m sure innocent people were killed. . . . It’s just something that happens.”

Durant has been recuperating at his home in Clarksville, Tenn., since being released from a hospital last month. He said he was looking forward to returning to a more private life and spending uninterrupted time with his family.

“I hope I don’t see a camera again for a while,” he said. “We’re even going to put our own in a bag and leave it.”

Also Sunday, about 180 more soldiers returned from Somalia to Ft. Drum, N.Y. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan attended a welcoming ceremony.