Combat Action badges are presented in Bismarck

Bismarck, ND (WDAY TV) -- An emotional ceremony for two families of Fallen North Dakota Soldiers.

The National Guard presented them Combat Action Badges. It was held in Bismarck.

Staff Sgt. Ken Hendrickson and Sgt. Keith Smette, were honored for their service in Iraq.

The Badge is awarded to soldiers for actively engaging with the enemy,

both soldiers deployed in 2003 and were killed in action in January of 2004.

The governor told the crowd, it's yet another sad reminder that the price of freedom, is not free.

The North Dakota National Guard has mobilized more than 39-hundred soldiers and more than 18-hundred airmen since the 9-11 attack in 2001.

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