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Kristi Coleman kisses her husband, Cpl. David Coleman, at the National Guard armory in Albany, Mo., on Tuesday. National Guard soldiers from the 129th Field Artillery unit returned home after a year spent in Kosovo.

ALBANY, Mo. — On Tuesday, a journey that covered thousands of miles and lasted 12 months ended for 74 Missouri citizen-soldiers. The last leg of their journey began at 11:30 p.m. Monday when two buses headed home from Camp Atterbury, Ind.

The Northwest Missouri soldiers have been part of a force of 1,000 Missouri National Guard members helping to keep the peace in Kosovo. While overseas, the men performed 1,500 missions along the border and in small communities in the vicinity of Camp Bondsteel, where the military encamped.

On Tuesday, about the time the buses crossed into Missouri, Misty Reynolds left a foggy Burlington Junction. She and 7-month-old Keaton were ready to see the baby’s father, Sgt. Phillip Reynolds.

“I’ve been looking for this day since he left,” Mrs. Reynolds said.

Heartland Regional Medical Center nurse Crystal Bartlett dressed Octaveon, 6, and his sister Oryha, 3, in camouflage military fatigues Tuesday to see their father, Spc. Alex Bartlett.

Lauren Bagley had a day off from her job with the mental health unit in the new women’s correctional center at Chillicothe. Her husband, Sgt. Matthew Bagley, was coming home.

“The nice thing about his coming home from a deployment is I get that first feeling all over again,” Mrs. Bagley said, “You know, that first kiss, that feeling of first love all over again.”

Mrs. Bagley had a surprise for her husband, too. She’d lost 70 pounds.

The destination for the wives was the armory in Albany, where the Family Readiness Group and volunteers had the armory’s drill hall decked out in wall-to-wall posters, saying “thank you” and “welcome home” on Tuesday. The Veterans of Foreign Wars donated 500 U.S. flags to the armory and they were all in use Tuesday. The armory was standing room only, with veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, as well as families.

1st Lt. Matthew Martz spent the last year working with the Family Readiness Group to ensure that families missing a father didn’t get overwhelmed by life. His job would end shortly after the soldiers returned.

“It’s a matter of taking care of the home front so the soldiers can focus on their overseas mission,” Mr. Martz said.

As the buses approached, schoolchildren, friends and family lined College Street. At 11 a.m., with red lights flashing and sirens screaming, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper and local emergency responders escorted the buses up to the armory and the waiting families.

Col. Wendul Hagler II, the Missouri National Guard’s joint chief of staff, looked at the welcoming crowd and said, “It’s in towns like this where America lives.”

Marshall White can be reached at marshall@npgco.com.