Hours after Tuesday's memorial service, there was a homecoming here at Fort Hood. Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat team just finished a tour in Iraq.
Not long after some had shed tears at the memorial service, they were able to shed tears of joy as their loved ones came home, and as you can imagine, the events of this past week played out in the emotions of those reunited.
Music, signs and excitement were in the air at Cooper Field at Fort Hood Tuesday night. Family and friends waited on the nearly 300 soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat team to complete their journey home after a year in Iraq. Ellen Pilley had been married just seven months before her husband was deployed.
"Oh my gosh I am so, so excited, like there is no words, really, I'm super, super happy," said Ellen Pilley.
It was her husbands first deployment, but she acknowledged the special circumstances surrounding his first return from active duty. Not only was he coming home just in time for Veterans Day, but also less than a week after the mass shooting on the post that took 13 lives.
"It was kind of hard because I was sad but at the same time I was happy he was coming home, so, like you said, it was a really mixed feeling," said Pilley
"I am sad about a lot of things but I came home just to see my husband, I want him home and I want him safe, I feel I can protect him," said Daphney Jean, who's husband also was returning home.
But concerns over the past weeks events here on post, quickly gave way to the euphoria of being able to welcome home their soldiers.
"It feels pretty good, its been a long time," said Specialist Timothy Pilley.
"We are just happy to be home, we went through a lot but we did this together and there is so many emotions, I cannot believe we make it out here but God bless its just happiness and support, were just happy, were just happy to be here," said Specialist Alfred Jean.
There's currently 65 thousand troops from Fort Hood who had been deployed overseas this year alone.
This was the first group that has gotten to come home.
