19 soldiers return home for Christmas after 9 months abroad

HONOLULU — Nineteen U.S. Army soldiers were reunited with loved ones just in time for Christmas in Hawaii following a nine-month deployment in the Middle East.

Family and friends greeted the soldiers Monday night as they returned to the Schofield Barracks on Oahu.

Army officials say the soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division weren’t due back until Saturday, but Maj. Gen. Ronald P. Clark told staff “to do all they can to get them home before Christmas.”

Getting home included a military flight from Kuwait to Ireland and commercial flights crossing the Atlantic and then the Pacific.

The soldiers had been serving with the Postal Platoon of the 259th Human Resources Company, supporting postal operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries.