Fallen Comrade Ceremony Held at the 179th Airlift Wing Published June 7, 2011 By 2nd Lt. Holli Snyder 179th Public Affairs MANSFIELD, Ohio -- Members of the 179th Airlift Wing, local authorities, retirees and family members attended a fallen comrade ceremony Monday morning for Army 1st Lt. John M. Runkle on the flight line at Mansfield Lahm Airport. Runkle, along with six other soldiers from Fort Campbell, Ky., died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. The fallen comrade was flown into Mansfield Lahm Airport by a charter jet to a crowd of family members, retired military, Ohio State Highway Patrol members, local police officers and military personnel working at the base that morning. A six member team of Army soldiers carried the hero to the procession car where he would be taken to be laid to rest. Runkle was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.