(Des Moines, IA) -- Family and friends were on hand to welcome home soldiers from the Iowa National Guard Thursday.
Deena Wilde attended a ceremony in Des Moines, where she anxiously waited for her son, Nathan.
"My brother in law has been deployed three times, so we've done that on this side. But it's a whole different thing when it's your own child," said Wilde.
Nathan Wilde is among 600 National Guard soldiers who recently returned home from Iraq and Syria.
They were part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division.
They served in the same unit as two Iowa Guardsmen killed during an ISIS attack last December.
Welcome Home ceremonies were also held in Cedar Rapids and Sioux City.