ST. CLOUD – Raindrops and tear drops fell on Sunday afternoon as about a dozen National Guard soldiers were welcomed home at the St. Cloud National Guard Armory.

The National Guard says a total of 215 soldiers from the 1st Squadron, 94th Cavalry, 1st Brigade Combat Team returned to St. Paul.

The brigade, which provided reconnaissance and security, supported the final phase of the Iraq war.

It’s the first of many groups returning to Minnesota over the next three weeks. Buses carried the soldiers along four different routes throughout the state and stopped at various armories, including Pine City, Cloquet, Duluth, Anoka, St. Cloud, Brainerd, Hutchinson, Redwood Falls and Bloomington.

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