Mission accomplished.
The Burbank-based 1st Battalion, 144th Field Artillery Regiment of the National Guard returned home Monday after 45 days in the Gulf Coast helping residents restore their lives after the devastation caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
It is not enough to say thank you for their service, for braving a destroyed world of homelessness, death and frustration.
All we can do is point out that they have made a difference in lives in the South and our own lives.
There, the group, which includes members from Burbank and Glendale, accompanied a depleted New Orleans Police Department on patrols, went on security missions and helped with humanitarian aid.
As 40th Division Commander Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Gidley said, they should all be proud that their work help change people's lives while supporting the nation's security. That is what makes the National Guard unique, he said.
Indeed. Their sacrifices only serve to amplify the sacrifices their colleagues are making in Iraq.
And even though the Guard has made such sacrifices thousands of miles away, the fact that they've returned has to touch us.
They are now back in Southern California, where most of us can crawl into a safe bed at night, where it can be easy to forget the suffering in ravaged parts of our country, or in the embattled parts of the world.
These people have seen it.
"When you got over there, you saw a lot of people homeless and there were dead bodies and stuff like that," Sgt. Damian Eismann told the Burbank Leader this week. "It was pretty emotional."
Through people like Eismann, we are touched, and hopefully better people because of it.
Once again, thank you -- and welcome home.
