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FORT BRAGG -- Five hundred soldiers returned to American soil for the first time in a year Wednesday. Troops in the 82nd Airborne's Combat Aviation Brigade returned home in two groups on Wednesday evening.

The soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Seven soldiers from the brigade were killed during this deployment. More were wounded, including helicopter pilot Warrant Officer Byron Meads, who walked away from a crash with a few broken bones but is expected to fully recover.

"For us to be able to walk away from it, that was a plus column," said Meads. "That our family didn't lose two more members."

Two groups of 250 arrived through Wednesday night.