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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Hayley Hanson, center, pointed out dad Sgt. Pete Hanson on a video screen yesterday as tears of joy welled up in the eyes of Nikki Hanson, left, and her mother, Debbie Lowry, at Wheeler Air Field.

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Happy families
welcome troops home

Spouses describe the 12-month
separation as long and anxious

As she held their 2-year-old daughter, Hailey, Nikki Hanson wrapped her arms tightly around her husband, Sgt. Pete Hanson.

The family hug said it all. Hanson and 57 other soldiers returned to Hawaii yesterday evening after spending nearly a year in Afghanistan.

"Worrying is the worst part of it," Nikki Hanson said. "You never know what will happen there. They'll do anything to kill soldiers.

"Just knowing that he's here out of harm's way is more than I can hope for," she said.

The 58 soldiers from the 725th Main Support Battalion of the 25th Infantry Division were greeted warmly by friends and loved ones who brought leis and bright-colored signs to the homecoming at Wheeler Army Airfield in Wahiawa. The soldiers -- part of Operation Enduring Freedom -- are the first from the battalion to return from Afghanistan.

"It really hasn't hit me," said Sgt. Pete Hanson, a radio operator, as he held his daughter. "It's just great to be back in the States."

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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Sgt. Sean Rincon, above, was met by wife Melissa, son Zen and daughter Clarissa at a return ceremony yesterday at Wheeler Army Airfield.

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The soldiers arrived at Honolulu Airport shortly after 3 p.m. yesterday and were taken to a hangar at Wheeler Army Airfield where more than 100 people anxiously waited for them.

Another 52 soldiers from the Main Support Battalion are expected to return to Hawaii from Afghanistan in two weeks, while 208 soldiers are expected to return in March or April, according to Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Derek Smith.

The battalion provided support in areas that included food and fuel, mortuary affairs, medical supplies and transportation, Smith said.

"It was a long 12 months but a good 12 months," he added, noting that all 58 soldiers returned in good health and without injuries.

"We came back as a team," said Sgt. 1st Class Jennifer Flores after she received a big hug from her 13-year-old daughter, Brittnay.

"It's very overwhelming," Flores said on her return home.

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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM The first soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division to return from duty in Afghanistan were met by relieved friends and family.

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Many families described the long separation from their loved ones as difficult. They kept busy tending to their children, managing their personal finances and remaining optimistic that the soldiers would return safely.

Many, like Dan Flores, said they kept in touch with their spouses through frequent phone calls and e-mails.

A retired staff sergeant who spent 16 years in the Army, Flores noted how the roles in his household reversed as he sat waiting for his wife to arrive from an operation.

"This is the first time for me being on the other side," he said.

For Jessica Key, the deployment of her husband, Sgt. Shaun Key, went by quickly.

"The kids kind of kept me busy," Key said as she watched 3-year-old daughter Leilani and 1-year-old son Elijah play inside the hangar.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS U.S. Marines comforted each other yesterday during a memorial service for 31 U.S. servicemen at Camp Korean Village, near Ar Rutbah, western Iraq. Thirty Marines and one sailor died on Jan. 26 when their helicopter crashed near Ar Rutbah while conducting security operations.

Ceremony in Iraq honors
Marines killed in copter crash

Most of the victims of the Jan. 26
incident were based in Hawaii

CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq » U.S. Marines held a memorial service yesterday for 31 comrades killed in the crash of a transport helicopter during a swirling sandstorm in Iraq's vast western desert -- the U.S. military's single biggest lost of life here since the March 2003 invasion.

Most of the victims -- 26 Marines and a sailor -- were based in Kaneohe. All had arrived in Iraq in September and survived November's fierce battle for Fallujah.

Filing past their fallen comrades' combat boots, rifles and helmets, Marines took turns kneeling in front of the display. One wept, burying his face into one of his hands. Others hugged each other.

One Marine played taps on a bright gold trumpet as hundreds of others stood in stiff salutes and two helicopter gunships flew overhead through a bright blue sky.

The CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopter crashed shortly after midnight on Jan. 26 during a fierce sandstorm near the Syrian border, killing 30 Marines and one Navy sailor.

The hulking aircraft was transporting Marines to this base near the Iraqi town of Rutbah for security operations in preparation of last weekend's elections. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but officials have said it does not appear the helicopter was downed by hostile fire.

During yesterday's service a Marine strummed on a guitar before placing the instrument beside the row of upright rifles.

The Marines who died had arrived in Iraq in September to support the U.S. military's siege on the former insurgent base of Fallujah in November.