HURON – They had said prayers for 322 days.
But all the worry and stress and hopes for a safe return gave way to an eruption of cheers and a release of tears when the men and women of the 153rd Engineer Battalion turned the last corner toward home.
“It was a pretty emotional day for all of us, and especially for the troops and their families,” Mayor Paul Aylward said when recalling Nov. 11 of last year, when the Huron and Parkston soldiers departed for their deployment to the Middle East.
“But today is a day of joy, where you come home and are honored for your service,” he said in a packed Huron Arena for Saturday’s deactivation ceremony.
A large crowd had gathered on the west side of the Arena in anticipation of welcoming the troops back to Huron. Family and friends cheered loudly when they came into view on the beds of pickup trucks and on flatbed trailers and shuttles.
They waved flags, held signs, snapped pictures, smiled and, of course, cried.
South Dakota’s senior senator, John Thune, said the National Guard is the state’s pride and joy. They have the qualities of the patriots who founded the country and have defended it for centuries, he said.
“Please know that this community, as you can see by all the people who are gathered here today, support you and thank you,” Thune said.
Soldiers entered the Arena to more cheers. Many carried young children they had not seen in months. One large sign was decorated with small painted open hand prints. “These are the hands that prayed for a safe return,” it read.
Then, as they sat, reunited, with their families on chairs on the Arena floor – with friends and community members looking on from the upper level – members of the 153rd were thanked by each of the speakers.
Maj. Gen. Timothy Reisch, adjutant general of the South Dakota National Guard, said the unit had been in existence for 155 years. This deployment was as important as engagements in all the others in its history, including the two world wars, he said.
America asks a great deal of its military, the families and the communities, said Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D.
“You’ve made a huge sacrifice on our behalf,” she said.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who attended many activation and deactivation ceremonies for Guard units during his eight years as governor, said when the units are mobilized, the entire community is mobilized.
“To the spouses,” Rounds said, “there is no such thing as a handbook that you go by to figure out how to be the spouse of a member of the armed forces, particularly when they leave.”
A number of the Guard members who were introduced as the ceremony got under way once commanded the 153rd Engineer Battalion.
One of those former commanders is Don Rounds, who was not in attendance. Now 90, he lives in a nursing home in Pierre. Mike Rounds said he visited his father Friday morning.
The elder Rounds was the first commanding officer of the 153rd when it was converted and redesigned in Huron in 1956.
“He said, ‘You tell them all hi from me and we’re proud of them,’” Don Rounds said to his son.
“And I don’t think there’s any better way to say it,” Sen. Rounds said.
Lt. Col. Trent Bruce, the current 153rd commander, said the unit completed 100 projects in five countries during the deployment – in Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Syria and Kuwait.
He thanked all the employers, co-workers and civic organizations and said he was particularly grateful for all the donations that made their trip home for Christmas possible.
Speakers also cautioned the returning soldiers that it will take time to return to the flow of civilian life.
Things won’t quickly go back to the way they were before they left, Reisch said.
“You just need to be patient and understand that,” he said. “Please take time to readjust.”
“Adjustments take a lot and things happen in life,” said Lt. Gov. Matt Michels, filling in for Gov. Dennis Daugaard, who was ill.
“It’s the strong that ask for help,” Michels said.
While waiting with others in a coaches’ room for the ceremony to begin, Aylward noticed a sign. He shared its words with the audience.
“Champions are made with dedication, desire and hard work,” it reads.
“I think the 153rd qualifies,” Aylward said. “In my eyes and in all the eyes here, you are champions. You fulfilled your mission, you did your job and you returned safely.”
Plainsman photos by Mike Carroll and Angelina Della Rocco While last November’s ceremony, which sent the S.D. National Guard’s 153rd Engineers Battalion to training and then overseas, was filled with tears of sadness, the welcome home on Saturday was chock-full of smiling faces and tears of joy as families were reunited after the unit returned to Huron.
