FRANKLIN, Ind. (AP) — Family and friends broke out in cheers as members of an Indiana National Guard members marched into a gymnasium to mark the end of a nearly eight-month deployment.
About 160 members of the 1413th Engineer Company arrived Tuesday at the National Guard armory in Franklin. Much of their deployment was spent in Afghanistan, where their duties included base-closure work as American and NATO troops end their combat mission in that country.
Sgt. Caleb Poynter is arriving home soon before the second birthday for his twin daughters. Poynter tells the Daily Journal the toughest part of his deployment was missing the girls as they grew.
Alison Beaver told WTHR-TV she was excited for her husband Justin to see their daughter, who was just a few weeks old when his deployment started.