Local families welcome home soldiers

by Kelli Cheatham (kcheatham@wsbt.com)

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After nearly nine months, many members of Warsaw-based Company A return to Indiana. (WSBT photo)

By WSBT News1

Story Created: Nov 27, 2008 at 10:22 PM EST

Story Updated: Nov 27, 2008 at 11:54 PM EST

INDIANAPOLIS — It's a Thanksgiving some local military families won't ever forget. Hundreds of Indiana National Guardsmen from the Warsaw-based 293rd Infantry Division's "Alpha Company" came home from Iraq Thursday.

Ten months ago the soldiers said goodbye to friends and family. Thursday night everyone found plenty of reasons to be thankful.

"I wanna see him," said Tamara Winenger as she anxiously awaited her son's arrival at Stout Field in Indianapolis.

Months of waiting had turned into hours, then seconds of anxiety for hundreds of military families.

"It's been a long time," said Pam Horvath.

"[We're] very thankful." continued her husband Joseph. "We really didn't have much of a Thanksgiving as far as coming down here. We ended up having to eat at Honker's. But we're happy to have him home."

Both the Horvaths and Winengers are from South Bend. Their sons are in the Warsaw-based Company A. They deployed to Iraq in a group of 3,400 soldiers — the largest deployment from the Indiana National Guard since World War II.

"It's been really hard," said Joseph Horvath. "You never know what's going on from day-to-day as far as over here."

"It's great," said SGT Stephen Winenger. "I'm glad to be back."

But for Bryan Horvath's family, it's a homecoming on the heels of another goodbye.

"We have twin boys," explained his father. "Bryan's coming home and Brandon's getting ready to go in April."

For now the Horvaths, like hundreds of other 76th Brigade Families, are counting their blessings.

"He's coming home and he's safe, so that's all that matters right now," Pam Horvath said.

They know all that matters on Thanksgiving is being with friends and family.

"It's a great feeling, yeah," said returning soldier Fallou Faye as he fed his 3-month-old daughter a bottle.

None of the guardsmen got to go home with their families on Thanksgiving. All soldiers have to go through a mandatory "mental health debriefing" at Camp Atterbury in Indiana.

But after that they will be home for good.

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