BENTON, KY (KFVS) -
Soldiers from two Kentucky National Guard units arrived back in the states on Tuesday just in time for the holidays.
Hundreds of loved ones welcomed 70 soldiers home in Benton, Ky.
Soldiers from Company A, 149th Brigade Support Battalion were gone for about seven months. The unit is also part of Task Force Legion, which deployed more than 1,300 soldiers last June to Iraq.
This homecoming was a bit earlier than expected since President Obama announced all U.S. troops would withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year.
The company was one of the last to leave Iraq.
Many of the wives say the soldiers called a couple of weeks ago to say they were headed to Kuwait, then to a base in Indiana, then home just in time for Christmas.
"It's great," said Spc. Timothy Early. "Words don't describe it."
"It's amazing, "said Alex Early, Spc. Early's wife. "It's what we've waited for, for six months."
"I'm going to spend time with my family, catch up on old times and guess just relax for a little bit," said Spc. Justin Melendez.
"I didn't know what to think at first, then I got off the bus and I almost got choked, but turns out they were just hugging me," said one soldier.
"There's no words to feel what I'm feeling right now," said one soldier's mother. "I am just outdone."
Veterans at the homecoming say they liked to see such a big welcome home.
After a short ceremony, the soldiers left to be home with their families.
The soldiers say they are most looking forward to sleeping in their own beds and enjoying the home cooking of their wives and mothers.
Another welcome home ceremony was planned for Tuesday afternoon in Louisville for 53 soldiers from Headquarters Company, 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. The unit comprises the largest element of Task Force Legion.
Task Force Legion helped with the withdrawal of troops in Iraq. The Guard says the units were part of the largest mobilization of Kentucky National Guard troops since World War II.
Copyright 2011 KFVS. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
