Advertisement

Mass. National Guard Troops Return Home For Christmas

Hundreds of families across the state are receiving the Christmas gift of a homecoming on Friday.

"I'm anticipating the best Christmas present ever," said Melissa Chiano, whose husband is among the 400 Mass. National Guard troops set to arrive home Friday. "My boys are eight and one and we can't wait for daddy to get home."

Her husband, Sgt. William Chiano, and his unit, the 164th Transportation Battalion, have spent the past year in Iraq.

The Chianos don't plan on doing much this Christmas, Melissa said.

"Just hanging out letting the baby get re-aquainted," Chiano said. "He hasn't really seen daddy since he was home in August for his two weeks."

Melissa Chiano and other family members learned just this week the battalion would be returning home a few weeks earlier than expected.

This program aired on December 24, 2010. The audio for this program is not available.

Advertisement

More from WBUR

Listen Live
Close