Photos by Josh Meltzer | The Roanoke Times

Jennifer Shallenberger photographs Guardsman Nathaniel Hughes greeting his sisters, 11-year-old Noelani (left) and 12-year-old Haniya, at their school. Hughes returned home Tuesday and went straight to the school to surprise them.

A crowd waves as a bus carrying Virginia Army National Guard troops returns to Roanoke on Tuesday.

Cpl. Joshua Ferguson's mother (from left), girlfriend and sister-in-law wait to greet him in Roanoke on Tuesday as he returns from a tour in Iraq. The guardsmen drove supply trucks in Iraq and Kuwait, logging nearly 5.5 million miles.

Jasmine Ferguson and her husband, Joseph, welcome his brother Joshua home from Iraq. The returning troops will have 90 days free from their unit’s usual meetings and drills to “reintegrate with their families,” a Virginia National Guard spokeswoman said. Some guardsmen have vacations planned already or jobs to look forward to. “I’m looking forward to the beach,” Spc. Michael Clay said. “I don’t even care if the water is cold.”

Judah Harris, 2, wears a homemade patriotic hat as National Guard members wait to see their families Tuesday. Speakers at the welcome-home ceremony were brief so troops didn't have to wait long to greet friends and family members. "I'm not going to bore you," Lt. Guy Gormley said. "Welcome home."

Video

• Watch as the National Guard unit arrives home from Iraq to their families and well-wishers

Photo gallery

• See more photos from the National Guard unit's return home

Staff Sgt. Jesse Ault

Sign Staff Sgt. Ault's guest book

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.

The reunions turned briefly bittersweet in a moment of silence dedicated to one who didn't make it back: Staff Sgt. Jesse Ault of Dublin, killed in action April 9.

But overall, joy and relief prevailed. A crowd of family members and well-wishers -- estimated by military officials at more than 150 -- gathered at the Reserve Avenue armory at midmorning. They waved flags and signs carrying messages such as "Praise God you're home." It was almost a year to the day since the unit departed from the same place for two months of training at Camp Atterbury, Ind., before its deployment to Iraq.

Three buses chauffeured the camouflage fatigue-adorned citizen-soldiers to within a few feet of their loved ones, who snapped photos and had to restrain themselves through 20 minutes of guest speakers and recorded renditions of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the Army's theme song, "The Caissons Go Rolling Along."

The speakers were mercifully brief. Lt. Col. Guy Gormley took only about a minute to congratulate the ranks of men and women on a job well done, and then said, simply, "I'm not going to bore you. Welcome home."

The second the soldiers were officially dismissed, they were enveloped in a swirl of affections that had been held back for too long.

Spc. Jermane Royal was greeted with a hug from his 2-year-old daughter, Jalmya. "She recognized me. I wasn't sure she would," he said.

Melissa Clay had arranged a getaway for her 23-year-old husband, Spc. Michael Clay. She has made hotel reservations for the South Boston couple to spend the next several days in Virginia Beach. He said, "I'm looking forward to the beach. I don't even care if the water is cold."

Most of the soldiers are members of Roanoke-based Company E, 429th Brigade Support Battalion, although Clay is one of about 60 troops from South Boston's Company A of the 429th. The two companies were blended for the Iraq mission.

In Iraq and neighboring Kuwait, the soldiers drove more than 60 trucks that hauled various supplies. Collectively they logged nearly 5.5 million miles.

Although no one from the unit was wounded in action, a soldier was killed: Ault, 28, of Dublin. Ault died in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device blew up near his vehicle. Several of Ault's family members attended Tuesday's gathering; some wore T-shirts memorializing him, and they welcomed his colleagues. They asked the media for privacy.

Thirty-five of the 4,068 U.S. troops killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 had ties to Western Virginia, according to a count kept by The Roanoke Times.

The returning National Guard force will have 90 days free from their unit's usual meetings and drills. "Time to reintegrate with their families," said Capt. Dayna Rowden, a Richmond-based Virginia National Guard spokeswoman.

That suits Royal's wife, Jessica.

"He would phone about once a week, but at the end of the call, you realize how far apart you are. And it will be another week before you talk again -- a long time until the children can hear their daddy again," she said. In addition to their daughter, Jalmya, the Royals also have a 7-year-old son, Jalen. They're planning a late June vacation in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Besides holidays, there's also the matter of jobs. Bussard, for example works in Target's shipping department. And the military supply sergeant said civilian labors seem especially appealing after spending nearly a year in a war zone: "It's great to get back to normal life."

At least the returning troops can hope for normalcy. Before disbanding Tuesday, officials encouraged them to seek counseling if they suffer any lingering psychological effects, such as the post-traumatic stress disorder that many Iraq veterans have suffered.

But the returning troops didn't seem stressed Tuesday. Clay, holding hands with his wife, walked from the armory into bright sunshine. They smiled at each other, and for at least the moment, they seemed happily unconcerned about war, or anything else.