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Jul 16, 2007 7:25 pm US/Central
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Minnesota Guard's 1st Brigade Returns Home
by Lisa Kiava
(WCCO)
After serving in Iraq for more than a year, 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard's 1st Brigade Combat Team are finally coming home.
The guard members were deployed a total of 22 months, 16 of which were spent in combat zones. That is longer than any other military unit in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Soldiers are returning Monday to armories in 10 different communities including Little Falls, Bloomington, Cottage Grove and Duluth.
One of the reunions took place at the Brooklyn Park Armory where 45 soldiers unloaded off buses into the arms of loved ones. The guard members were part of a large battalion that had their time in Iraq extended an additional four months.
Soldiers reflected on what they missed most about home besides family. One said he had his wife put beer and pizza in the fridge.
"I'm glad that I was over there helping people that couldn't -- that aren't free, but I'm so glad that I was over there to help people over here stay free," stated Amber McFadden, a returning soldier who had just met her newborn nephew.
Christopher Cady, another returning soldier, met his son at birth but he missed his baby's first eleven months.
"He's got my nose and my eyes," said Cady. "A lot bigger than when I left."
Five year old Carter Egesdal was on hand for the homecoming but his reason for being there is unique. To Carter, soldiers are his superheroes, so he insisted on meeting each one to say:
"Welcome home and thank you for serving."
What is special about Carter is that he doesn't even know anyone that serves in military. He just wanted to be there to thank his heroes.
The Brooklyn Park Armory will welcome another 100 soldiers Tuesday.
Minnesota National Guard troops based in Detroit Lakes were also back in the United States on Monday after spending 16 months in combat in Iraq.
These soldiers based in Detroit Lakes were among 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard who were called up in the largest deployment since World War II.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)