‘Best present ever’: Oregon Guard soldiers come home

While more than 1,000 Oregon National Guard soldiers remain mobilized in Afghanistan this Christmas, several will be able to give their families and loved ones the gift of their safe return for Christmas . The first of many returned home on Christmas Eve day.

Spc. Jeffrey Duke of Salem and Sgt. Pete Gibbs of Portland, from the 1-82 Cavalry Squadron, were warmly greeted at Portland International Airport Wednesday after a long series of flights from Afghanistan.

Duke and Gibbs are two among many soldiers returning home this year as combat operations draw down in the long-embattled country.

“I have a 1-month-old daughter that I can’t wait to see,” said Gibbs. “It’s amazing to be home for Christmas .”

“It’s the best Christmas present ever,” said Duke’s wife, Kirsten Duke.

“I am just ready to be home,” Jeffrey Duke added.

The eight Oregon Guard soldiers who arrived back home on Christmas Eve also included three Central Oregonians: Spc. Marissa Hafter, Sgt. Eric Weaver and Sgt. William Rudy.

The troops arriving home Wednesday are with the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team and also include soldiers from the Eugene and Medford areas.