As a soldier, it’s never easy to leave their families behind and sacrifice their life with every step they make in a different country.

But they still do it because it’s their duty and honor to defend their country.

That’s why going home is such a blessing for these soldiers. Every day they’re stationed overseas, they’re not sure if they’re coming home in one piece or in a body bag.

But even if they’re on the plane already, a lot of them can’t rest until they’re safely on American soil.

Members of the West Virginia National Guard had been deployed for nine months in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan. And they were very excited about finally getting home.

At first, some of the men hummed John Denver’s hit single, “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Pretty soon, the tune became infectious and the entire plane became a choir of amateur singers.

One of the guards, Chandler McDaniel, caught it all on video and posted it on his TikTok account. The video has received more than 200,000 likes and viewed almost a million times.

The guards came home in January 2020 but McDaniel didn’t post this video until March. It doesn’t matter if it was posted late though. It still caught the attention of different news stations in West Virginia, Barstool Sports, and FOX News.

McDaniel reposted it again on TikTok a week later and received almost 3 million views and more than 500,000 likes.

These guards are part of the West Virginia Army National Guard’s 821st Horizontal Construction Company (HCC), part of the 1092nd Engineer Battalion.

Having been gone for the past nine months, they are welcomed at the tarmac by their families and friends, plus West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and his wife Cathy.

“On behalf of all West Virginians, Cathy and I want to welcome home all the men and women of the 821st who have been overseas defending freedom,” Gov. Jim Justice said in his welcome speech to the guards. “We are so happy for their safe return and so appreciative of the sacrifices they and their families have made for all of us here at home.”

Before the plane arrived, the guards’ families and friends have been busy making their own signs to welcome their loved ones.

The children were busy sticking letters on the posters to welcome home their daddies or their mommies.

Some wives, like Breezy Sprouse, already made her sign in advance because she wanted to show off her baby’s steps to her husband, PFC Daniel Sprouse.

Pretty soon, they got word that the plane was about to land and the families made their way to tarmac.

It was drizzling but they didn’t care. It was the day they’ve been waiting to arrive for so long.

Welcome home signs, lots of hugs, and lots of tears greeted the guards. Families and friends craned their necks to look for their guards as they stepped off the plane.

Although they have been deployed to perform important construction work and various jobs in the Middle East, it’s still good to be home for the soldiers.

“Deployments are never easy, either on those serving or those left behind on the home front,” Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, Adjutant General, stated.

All of them are happy to be home, safe, and sound.

Want to listen to their homecoming anthem? Watch the video below.

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Source: TheDC Shorts, Southern Living, Tiktok/Chandler McDaniel, WOWK TV, YouTube/Military Footage Archive, Instagram/Chandler McDaniel