There were cheers and happy tears for about 170 Virginia Army National Guard troops from Roanoke and South Boston who returned home from Iraq on Tuesday after a 10-month tour of duty.

The Christmas festivities that David Bussard missed five months ago were waiting at home, with the artificial tree still up, said his wife, Victoria. The guardsman from Stuarts Draft also planned to belatedly celebrate the second birthday of his son, Nathaniel. "We have a lot of being a family to catch up on," David Bussard said.

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