MONROE

The National Guard Armory on Charles Street filled with women and children gathered to greet their husbands and fathers who were due to return from Iraq Saturday afternoon.

While in Iraq, the Bravo Battery of the National Guard 30th Brigade provided patrol and security for the Iraqi people; Saturday night would be first time they slept in their own beds since April.

1:30 p.m.

By this point, about 200 people have gathered at the National Guard Armory waiting for the convoy to return. Union County chapter Red Cross coordinating volunteer Tim Patton announced that the soldiers were at Rock Hill, which drew a cheer from the crowd.

Chasity Rominger sat with Nantasha Chryst, each in full makeup and Sunday best. Rominger’s daughters, Emma, 5, and Cora, 3, wore white sweatshirts with their fathers name, Sgt. Brian Rominger, on the front.

“I’m going to see my daddy today,” Emma announced with a smile.

The girls grabbed chocolate cupcakes the local American Legion post provided, but their mother did not allow any cupcake eating.

“With white shirts? No way,” she said.

The ladies talked about the difficulties of being away from their husbands since April.

The Chrysts had to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary eight time zones apart and Nantasha Chryst’s father died

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while her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Peter Chryst, was in Iraq.

There were ways to cope with the distance, however. The Romingers spoke frequently over Skype and the Chrysts chatted using discount phone cards. Both couples used Facebook as a way to see photos of each other.

Before he left, Brian Rominger made short films of himself for special occasions. That way he could personally wish his daughters a happy birthday or merry Christmas and they could see their dad and hear him firsthand, even if he could not be there in person.

“At one point Emma said she had to tell daddy something,” Chasity Rominger remembered about one time they were watching a recording. “I just stopped it, let her talk to him, then pushed play again.”

Nantasha Chryst and her husband continued a tradition of weekly dates, even if the dates were all digital while he was gone.

Patton announced that the convoy just passed Carowinds, another cheer.

1:45 p.m.

Mike Locklear stood in the corner of the armory, busily texting and calling.

“I’m going to take him out and do whatever he wants tonight,” Locklear said on the phone.

He was talking about Spc. Curtis Yannone.

“We look at each other like brothers,” Locklear said. “We’ve been through so much together.”

The two are loosely related through Yannone’s sister, but Locklear said their bond is deeper than that of relatives. “We’ve been like brothers for 12 years,” he said.

Locklear said he would take Yannone out on the town Saturday night.

“Whatever he wants to do.”

Patton announced that the convoy was on Interstate 485 by the Providence Road exit. More cheers.

2 p.m.

Most of the children of military fathers are young, but Lauren Tedder, at 19 years old, had a more mature understanding of the realities of what her stepfather faced while in a war zone.

“It’s been stressful,” the stepdaughter of 1st Sgt. Phil Pressley said.

Pressley has two other children who are younger and Tedder said she helps explain things to them so her mother, Deanna Pressley, does not have to bear that full burden.

“They say that their dad is a brave soldier,” Tedder said.

The convoy was passing through Stallings. Patton said they had a police convoy and would not have to stop at any traffic lights. Family members started to file out of the armory and toward Charles Street, where the three buses would unload.

2:30 p.m.

When the lead police cars crossed Green Street, an infectious cheer took over the crowd. Children held up their “Welcome Home” signs and wives inched toward the road.

As the first soldiers stepped off the buses they were met with a wave of applause and the embraces their family members.

“This is the neatest thing that I have ever been involved with at the Red Cross,” volunteer Sheila Crunkleton said with tears in her eyes.

As Peter Chryst stepped down, he barely had time to look up before his wife threw her arms around his neck and planted her lips firmly on his.

Brian Rominger went to one knee to meet his daughters as they buried their faces in his chest.

“This is sensory overload,” he said a few minutes later, holding Cora in his left arm.

“This is my daddy!” announced Cora, then hugged him and tilted her head into the side of his neck.

Chasity Rominger had tear streaks down her cheeks and beamed with a smile.

Locklear threw Yannone’s bags over his shoulder and the two headed toward his car, ready to catch up on their stories.

Time line

December, 2008 - Soldiers leave for training

January-February, 2009 - Training in Mississippi

March, 2009 - Training in California

April, 2009 - Meet in Fayeteville and deploy for Iraq

Feb. 6, 2010 - Soldiers return to Monroe.

No serious injuries in the Bravo Battery, but seven soldiers from the 30th Brigade were killed.

While the solders were gone Deanna Pressley said there were “several” births and the Union County chapter Red Cross served 132 emergency cases in the county.