BREWER – How little brother got the first hug from Spc. Cody Myers on Thursday still remains a mystery to the soldier’s family.

Through tear-blurred eyes, Myers’ mother, Jody Roberts, watched as her two sons embraced and patiently waited her turn. When Myers, who returned Thursday from a yearlong deployment in Iraq, finally found his mother in the crowd, he held her and just let her sob.

“I’m just so happy to have him home,” Roberts said.

As for how 17-year- younger brother Ethan Myers snagged the first welcome home hug, Roberts managed a laugh when the family suggested her son threw elbows.

“Ethan just pushed everyone away,” she said. “They’re real close. They just do everything together.”

Myers was among 36 soldiers who were reunited Thursday with their families at Jeff’s Catering, Banquet & Convention Center after a yearlong deployment with the Brewer-based Detachment 1 of the 169th Military Police Company, a unit of the Maine Army National Guard. While in Iraq, the soldiers completed security operations and mentored Iraqi police units.

This tour to Iraq was the second one for the detachment’s executive officer, Capt. Mitch Bailey of Lyman. Bailey, who deployed in 2004 with a Pennsylvania Army Reserve unit, said that during his first tour, American soldiers were teaching Iraqi police simple arrest techniques. This time around, the Iraqis were learning administrative and investigation skills.

“For me it wasn’t culture shock, it was nice to see how the country had improved,” Bailey said.

For the families though, Thursday’s victory was all about having their loved ones back on American soil.

CC Mason tried as much as possible, through e-mails, letters and phone calls, to stay in contact with her son Spc. David Richardson, 21, of Winterport. Sometimes, though, during the long missions that took him away from base camp for weeks, Mason resorted to desperate measures to check on her son’s safety.

The worry-stricken mother admitted that on at least five occasions she logged into her son’s online banking account to see whether he had made a recent purchase. When an e-mail did not confirm his well-being, a quick check of his debit card statement did the trick.

“People would say, ‘oh, it’s the whole controlling mom thing,’ but it wasn’t that,” Mason said.

Mason was among the lucky family members who saw her soldier last week when the unit’s plane had an unexpected layover at Bangor International Airport. What began as a simple refueling at BIA ended in an all-day visit for some families.

Even though Mason was one of the lucky visitors last week, Thursday’s official welcome-home celebration was very special for her. Richardson’s father died while he was deployed, and with limited surviving family members, the 20-year-old soldier felt it was his duty to foot the entire funeral bill, she said. When his fellow soldiers learned of the tragedy, it wasn’t long before funds were raised for the February ceremony.

“After the funeral I was worried about him going back [to Iraq], until I saw how his Army family was,” Mason said. “Today is not only about seeing David, but watching everyone else who supported him enjoying themselves and seeing family members.”

trobbins@bangordailynews.net

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BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY KATE COLLINS

Loved ones applaud as the 169th Military Police Company of the Maine National Guard is dismissed from deployment Thursday at Jeff’s Catering, Banquet & Convention Center in Brewer.