From The Grand Rapids Press:
WYOMING -- Tears of joy and relief flowed at the Grand Valley Armory Monday night as friends and family greeted 128 returning Army National Guard soldiers from the 1463rd Transportation Company, back from a year-long deployment in Iraq.
...
Eastbound traffic was blocked in front of the armory for a couple hours prior to the soldiers' 9 p.m. arrival. An enormous American flag was hoisted over the entrance by fire engines from the Grandville and Wyoming departments.
The 1463rd is based out of Wyoming and Sturgis. They departed Michigan in June 2008 for eight weeks of training at Fort Bliss, Texas. They arrived in Iraq in August 2008.
In Iraq, the soldiers were stationed at Camp Bucca, where they were responsible for the oversight of Iraqi detainees. The Army estimates they processed approximately 10,000 detainees throughout the deployment.
A comment posted from a different story:
BikerEdge wrote:
What they failed to report is the escort that these hero's received. In front of their three busses were 26 motorcycles ridden by the Patriot Guard Riders, 14 cars driven by Patriot Guard members, several Corvettes from a Corvette club, several police vehicles which led the escort and blocked the intersections so the procession could proceed without interruption. Along the route people were seen waving, applauding, thanking, and waving the flag for the returning troups. It was a happy day for the entire community filled with gratitude and pride.
Thank you all for your service and thank God you're all home safe!
