National Guard Soldiers Return To ND, MN

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- Late-night flights brought home to North Dakota and Minnesota dozens of National Guard soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan for about a year, though some were delayed.

The Guard says the first soldiers arrived in Fargo at about 4 p.m. Wednesday. Later flights brought home most of the rest of the 70 soldiers to Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck and Minot. Guard spokesman Capt. Dan Murphy says about half a dozen soldiers missed a connecting flight in Minneapolis and were returning home Thursday.

The soldiers with the North Dakota Guard's 188th Air Defense Artillery Battalion had been at Fort Hood in Texas since Sunday, going through the demobilization process.

The Guard says the soldiers are from 31 communities in North Dakota and Minnesota.

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