
This Christmas, 160 soldiers with the 842nd Engineer Company will spend the holiday state-side.
Wednesday evening, the community of Spearfish celebrated their safe homecoming from Afghanistan, with the unveiling of the "Welcome Home 842nd Honor Tree" at the annual Zonta Festival of Trees event.
The tree, which is decked out in red, white and blue and features a red 'home' sign, is just one example of a "supportive community." That's according to 1st Sergeant Marc Stacey, who says it's events and gestures like this that helped him and the other soldiers through their year-long deployment. "It's quite an honor actually to have this tree for the 842nd welcome home party ... very nice to have the Zonta recognize us and all of our soldiers for making it home," 1st Sergeant Stacey said.
The soldiers returned in September. If you would like to see the trees yourself, you can check them out at the Spearfish Park Pavilion. The trees will be on display Saturday from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., free of charge.