Susan Valot
March 07, 2008
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More than a hundred California National Guard soldiers came home Thursday from more than six months in Baghdad. KPCC's Susan Valot says the soldiers got a hero's welcome at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos.
Susan Valot: Family members and friends carry balloons, wave American flags, and hold up homemade welcome home signs. A brass band sets the tone as a commercial jetliner carrying the soldiers taxies in under an archway of water, provided by local firefighters. Maria Torres waits for her son.
Maria Torres: I'm nervous.
Valot: You're nervous?
Torres: Yeah, but I'm happy, very happy.
Valot: Torres spots her son walking off the plane.
Torres: Mauricio!
Valot: They hug. Torres's glasses fall to the ground. She doesn't care. Her boy is home. Russ Bryan drove out from Hesperia to greet a family friend whom he says is like a son. He says the homecoming's a wonderful experience.
Russ Bryan: We talk about spending money for our military and for our country– what they spend on everything. Truly this is our asset right now. This is our greatest asset, seeing these beautiful men come home and be with their families again. This is our asset in this country.
Valot: Colonel Dave Baldwin is a commander who oversees these guys in the California National Guard. He says they're lucky to safely bring back the entire 1st Battalion, 185th Infantry Regiment, Charlie Company.
Dave Baldwin: They had a great deployment, only suffered two minor injuries due to combat action. No one got killed. They performed their mission brilliantly, and we're happy to have 'em home.
Valot: During their deployment, this group escorted judges and high-level military officers through Baghdad. They also were responsible for watching over kids detained by coalition forces. Eight of the soldiers received Bronze Stars.
