Members of a New Hampshire National Guard unit arrived back in Manchester yesterday.
They'd been stationed in Iraq for the past year.
Hundreds of Family and friends greeted them when they got off the bus.
NHPR Correspondent Avishay Artsy was there and files this report.
Before the troops arrived dozens of people milled about outside the Manchester Armory.
They waited impatiently for a convoy of buses coming from FT Dix New Jersey.
Those buses were carrying 170 National Guard soldiers returning from nearly a year in Iraq.
Specialist David Lavallee Junior's mother and sisters could barely stand the wait.
"He said he wants his life to get as back to normal as possible. He doesn?t want anybody making a big deal, he doesn?t want anyone making a big fuss. He wants us to act like he was never gone.?
?Do you think it?s going to be that easy??
?No! No. No. [entire family] We?re not lettin? him go for a couple days, not if we can help it.?
New Hampshire National Guard spokesman Captain Gregory Heilshorn surveyed the crowd gathered in the Armory:
?You?re looking at easy 500 people here, family and friends. This signifies the end of the mission, and the buses are coming [trails off] right now? [crowd shouting]?
The buses pulled up.
And as each soldier stepped off, Governor John Lynch was ready to shake his or her hand.
?Welcome home? welcome home??
The First Battalion, 172nd Field Artillery was mobilized in January of last year.
It arrived in Iraq two months later in early March.
They were based out of Camp Bucca near the Kuwaiti border.
There they performed security missions and helped train Iraqi police.
Until last week when they came back to the states.
Just before leaving Iraq, twenty-three year old Specialist Dan McPhail from Tilton watched security forces prepare for last weekend?s elections.
T44, 1:22 ?One of the most amazing things I saw was coalition forces and Iraqi forces and American forces working together to secure a better freedom for themselves.?
The soldiers stood in formation as Governor Lynch thanked them.
And then the Governor told the soldiers that his office would be available if they had any problems making the transition back to civilian life.
T46, 0:48?They have shown enormous sacrifice and courage and commitment, and I want to welcome them back and make sure they have a smooth entry into our community.?
Several state agencies, the Red Cross and the state's employee assistance program plan to help in readjusting to civilian life.
Troops are expected to go through three days of counseling on physical and emotional health, jobs and other issues.
Thirty-four year old Sergeant Mark Bright from Manchester admitted fitting back into a civilian lifestyle will be a challenge.
T52, 1:30 ?Driving down the road I find myself wanting to drive in the center lanes, drive really fast, it?s gonna be a challenge. Having so many people around you, that?s been a big one right there, having so many people around.?
As the crowd dispersed, twenty-seven year old Sergeant Dana Goulet from Nashua admires his five-month-old daughter, Madison.
He was home on leave for her birth last fall.
But he was redeployed shortly thereafter.
T53, :39 ?It?s unbelievable. Seeing my little girl, she?s so big now, compared to when I left.?
He says he?s looking forward to the normalcy of civilian life, and establishing a routine with his family.
?First couple weeks, rest and relaxation, and then back to reality I guess, the working world.?
The 172nd Field artillery was the first of six New Hampshire National Guard units returning this month from Iraq and Afghanistan.
That means 700 of the 850 deployed New Hampshire Guardsmen will be coming home by the end of February.
That?s great news for New Hampshire families with soldiers overseas.
Specialist David Lavallee?s sister, Tina, says her brother?s daily emails were her only source of news from the war front.
T36, 2:50 ?Every time somebody would come up to me and say, oh, did you hear that this happened over there, we?d say, just don?t tell us about it, we don?t want to know, because we were afraid every day for that knock on our door by the men in the green suits, telling us that something happened to our soldier. We avoided the news, we avoided the media, as much as possible. Until today.?
For NHPR News, this is Avishay Artsy in Manchester.
