During his yearlong deployment in Iraq, Maryland National Guard Col. Sean Casey missed Maryland's color - a world where everything wasn't dark tan or dark green.
Maj. Jared Lake had a hunger for Papa John's pizza and a day with his 5-year-old son.
And Staff Sgt. Brian Dudley was missing his kids' basketball games and sleeping in a comfortable bed.
Yesterday the sacrifices - great and small - of Maryland's citizen soldiers were recognized by elected officials, including Gov. Martin O'Malley. The ceremony at Towson University marked the 90th day of being home for the 125 members of the Guard's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 58th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
"I thank God you're home safely," O'Malley told the soldiers. "We thank you and your family. ... We are all humbled by your commitment and your service."
The unit members oversaw roads, utilities and other services for troops stationed at the Victory Base Complex in Baghdad. They were among 1,200 Maryland National Guard soldiers who spent the past year in Iraq as part of the largest deployment of combat troops from Maryland since World War II.
Four were wounded. None of them were killed, officials said.
"Our service came at the height of violence in Baghdad," Casey said, noting several times when unit members responded to attacks on the base, which killed several soldiers and wounded dozens of others.
Casey also remembered the lighter side of their service together - the corporal who was famous for his one-liners, the first lieutenant who emerged as a strong leader but also had a memorable giggle, the soldiers who won the base body-building contests.
"It was good to wrap everything up," said Lake, a Dundalk native who lives in White Hall and treasured the cards his 5-year-old son, Colby, made him in preschool.
The unit met at the one-month and two-month marks, too. And Saturday, they toured the Veterans Affair Medical Center in Baltimore together, so they would know where they could get treatment for any symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"You become a family for a while," said 1st Lt. Dave Causey of Parkville. "It was great to see everyone again. Some folks will be retiring soon. Some will be going back to other units."
Causey's 6-year-old daughter, Isabel, accompanied him to yesterday's ceremony, while his wife went to a soccer game with their 8-year-old son, Gabriel.
