i cannot begin to imagine how they feel.

The first blow was delivered to the fiancée of a
Staten Island soldier by a man in uniform - word that her beloved was
killed in combat in Iraq. The second was delivered two hours later by a
FedEx truck - a package from Sgt. Yevgeniy Ryndych with an engagement
ring inside.


This story of love, war and cruel fate was described
by Ryndych's grieving brother last night after the military confirmed
that the 24-year-old soldier was felled Wednesday by a homemade bomb
while on foot patrol with his unit in Ramadi.


Fighting back tears, his face tight with grief, Ivan
Ryndych said his brother's beloved was named Kim, but he couldn't bring
himself to talk about her - or what their life together might have
been.


But his eyes flashed with anger when he realized he
lost his brother on the same day a historic report damning President
Bush's failing Iraq strategy came out. "It won't change anything," said
Ivan Ryndych, 20, today.