Detroit, Aug 7 (Newswire): Carrying American flags, balloons and homemade posters, friends and family welcomed home 75 National Guard soldiers after a one-year stint in Afghanistan.
All members of the 1225 Combat Sustainment Support Battalion returned home safely, Sgt. Jeffery Duddy said during a welcome back ceremony at the Detroit Light Guard Armory on Eight Mile.
The group of soldiers deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, last August. Dressed in uniform, they returned to the cheers and hugs of family and friends, including children who had grown much taller since they left.
Spc. Marla Mitchell, 26, of Detroit, returned home to her daughter, Julianna, 3, who giggled as she playfully ran back and forth to her mother.
"I missed the things that she was doing," Mitchell said. "I'm glad I made it home before she starts school. She starts school in the fall."
Mitchell held a bouquet of colorful flowers as she was also welcomed back by her husband, mother, brother and other family and friends. She made friends of fellow soldiers while she was away, she said.
"This unit did an amazing job," she said. "We all made it and stuck together."
Kim Ostrander of Jackson welcomed home her husband, Lt. Douglas Ostrander. With them were their two children, Courtney, 12, and Joshua, 9.
"I'm happy," said Kim Ostrander. "It's been a long time. It's been hard, just the fact that their dad was gone." The family says one of the first things they'll do is take a trip to a lake.
"It's great," Douglas Ostrander said of his return. "It's almost overwhelming."
All members of the 1225 Combat Sustainment Support Battalion returned home safely, Sgt. Jeffery Duddy said during a welcome back ceremony at the Detroit Light Guard Armory on Eight Mile.
The group of soldiers deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, last August. Dressed in uniform, they returned to the cheers and hugs of family and friends, including children who had grown much taller since they left.
Spc. Marla Mitchell, 26, of Detroit, returned home to her daughter, Julianna, 3, who giggled as she playfully ran back and forth to her mother.
"I missed the things that she was doing," Mitchell said. "I'm glad I made it home before she starts school. She starts school in the fall."
Mitchell held a bouquet of colorful flowers as she was also welcomed back by her husband, mother, brother and other family and friends. She made friends of fellow soldiers while she was away, she said.
"This unit did an amazing job," she said. "We all made it and stuck together."
Kim Ostrander of Jackson welcomed home her husband, Lt. Douglas Ostrander. With them were their two children, Courtney, 12, and Joshua, 9.
"I'm happy," said Kim Ostrander. "It's been a long time. It's been hard, just the fact that their dad was gone." The family says one of the first things they'll do is take a trip to a lake.
"It's great," Douglas Ostrander said of his return. "It's almost overwhelming."
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