Prayers answered, Huron welcomes home National Guard unit
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HURON – They had said prayers for 322 days.
But all the worry and stress and hopes for a safe return gave way to an eruption of cheers and a release of tears when the men and women of the 153rd Engineer Battalion turned the last corner toward home.
“It was a pretty emotional day for all of us, and especially for the troops and their families,” Mayor Paul Aylward said when recalling Nov. 11 of last year, when the Huron and Parkston soldiers departed for their deployment to the Middle East.
“But today is a day of joy, where you come home and are honored for your service,” he said in a packed Huron Arena for Saturday’s deactivation ceremony.
A large crowd had gathered on the west side of the Arena in anticipation of welcoming the troops back to Huron. Family and friends cheered loudly when they came into view on the beds of pickup trucks and on flatbed trailers and shuttles.
They waved flags, held signs, snapped pictures, smiled and, of course, cried.
South Dakota’s senior senator, John Thune, said the National Guard is the state’s pride and joy. They have the qualities of the patriots who founded the country and have defended it for centuries, he said.
“Please know that this community, as you can see by all the people who are gathered here today, support you and thank you,” Thune said.
Soldiers entered the Arena to more cheers. Many carried young children they had not seen in months. One large sign was decorated with small painted open hand prints. “These are the hands that prayed for a safe return,” it read.
Then, as they sat, reunited, with their families on chairs on the Arena floor – with friends and community members looking on from the upper level – members of the 153rd were thanked by each of the speakers.
Maj. Gen. Timothy Reisch, adjutant general of the South Dakota National Guard, said the unit had been in existence for 155 years. This deployment was as important as engagements in all the others in its history, including the two world wars, he said.
America asks a great deal of its military, the families and the communities, said Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D.