America's warriors return: over the past year, families and hometowns have celebrated the return of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Here is a glimpse of a few of those heartfelt reunions and joyful turnouts

VFW Magazine, August, 2004 by Robert Widener

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Caption: Left: Army Capt. Joel Bachman, 4th Forward Support Battalion, 299th Engineer Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, gives his daughter a ride after a homecoming celebration at Fort Hood, Texas, on March 9, 2004.

Caption: Right: About 10,000 Marines from the Iraq War march down Highway 101 in Oceanside, Calif., during the Defenders of Freedom Parade on Oct. 25, 2003. Spectators numbered approximately 80,000. Camp Pendleton is located in Oceanside.

Caption: Spc. James Andy Horton, 1st Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, reunites with his parents, James and Tina, on his return to Fort Riley, Kan., from Iraq in March 2003. Horton's parents came to meet their son on his arrival, but were disappointed to find out it was another soldier named Horton. They stayed at a motel waiting until the next group arrived, which included their son.

Caption: Above: Sgt. Jesse Vogel, 414th Military Police, hugs his daughter as his wife and son look on. His unit arrived in Joplin, Mo., on May 19, 2004, after serving a year's duty in Afghanistan.

Caption: Right: Army Reservist 2nd Lt. Johnathan Sowell, 257th Transportation Company, Las Vegas, Nev., hugs his wife and daughter at Nellis Air Force Base on March 25, 2004, after an 18-month deployment in Kuwait and Iraq.

Caption: Left. Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate Charles Rosenbalm reunites with his daughter after disembarking from the USS Boxer April 29, 2004. This was the Boxer's second deployment to Iraq in less than a year after returning from a regularly scheduled deployment in August 2003.