By Dan Hartill,Staff Writer

FORT DRUM, N.Y. – Cheering as they touched the ground, 206 members of the 133rd Engineer Battalion of the Maine Army National Guard returned to the United States Wednesday night after a year’s service in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The soldiers included members of the 133rd’s Alpha and Bravo companies and more than 40 members of the New York Army National Guard.

They walked off the plane single file into the freezing temperatures, wearing their desert camouflage uniforms and carrying their M16 rifles. One left the plane on crutches.

They were greeted in the terminal with the theme song from the movie “Indiana Jones.”

Many cheered.

The flight took 12 hours, and Sgt. Matthew Bixby of Belfast said that when they were told they had entered U.S. air space, the feeling was overwhelming.

“It was so damned great!” he said.

As they touched the ground they cheered.

“It was a real wellspring of happiness and feeling,” Bixby said.

The plane landed at exactly 10:37 p.m., the schedule arrival time. Between 20 and 30 military officials were on the tarmac and in the terminal to greet the men and women.

The troops lined up to use telephones to call family members.

After phone calls and welcoming, the soldiers were being put on buses and taken to their barracks for the night.

But their journey isn’t over.

“It was great to land, but we’re not home yet,” said Pfc. Tracy Jipson of Gorham as she waited in line with others to call her parents, Lynn and Phyllis Savage of Gorham.

“We won’t be home until we reach Maine,” she said.

The arrival of the MD-11 aircraft at the Army post is to be the first of three waves of troops to return, including flights today and Friday, bringing more than 500 Maine troops home.

The next flight of troops from the 133rd is due to land at Fort Drum at 6:20 p.m. today.

Along with Alpha and Bravo companies, members of the Headquarters Company were also expected to arrive Wednesday night.

Wednesday’s flight started in Kuwait, with a stop in Germany and a direct flight to Fort Drum.

Today, they will begin their demobilization process, which is aimed at returning all troops to Maine no later than Saturday, March 5.

Before their return to Maine, the battalion is expected to be heavily decorated. Forty-two Purple Hearts are being awarded to the unit. Each one represents a combat wound inflicted by the enemy. Other awards include several Bronze Stars, one of the Army’s highest honors.

The 133rd Engineer Battalion lost three members during the tour: Spc. Christopher D. Gelineau, 23, of Portland, on April 20, 2004, in an ambush of a military convoy in Mosul; and Sgt. Lynn Poulin Sr., 47, of Freedom and Spc. Thomas Dostie, 20, of Somerville, who died when the dining tent at Camp Marez in Mosul was hit by a rocket Dec. 21, 2004.

The 133rd left the United States last March. It comprises nearly 500 members and is headquartered in Gardiner.

Company A has armories in Belfast and Skowhegan, Company B has armories in Saco and Westbrook, and Company C has armories in Lewiston and Norway.

The battalion specializes in building roads, bridges, airfields and buildings, including electrical and plumbing systems.