Soldiers return to Petaluma from Afghanistan today

<p>The third and final group of soldiers from the 235th engineer company of the National Guard returns to Sonoma County today, just in time for Thanksgiving.</p><p>The soldiers, originally scheduled to arrive at San Francisco International Airport about 1:30 p.m., arrived an hour early. They are being bussed to the armory in Petaluma, arriving by 2:30 p.m.</p><p>The group was part of 150 National Guard soldiers deployed to Afghanistan for year-long duty performing one of the most dangerous jobs in the war -- clearing the roads of planted enemy explosives.</p><p>The company returned 36 members of the Guard to its Petaluma base Nov. 15. A dozen other soldiers followed Friday and the final group returns today.</p><p>The company of battle-tested members earned 60 Purple Heart awards for wounds and 130 Combat Action Badges for receiving or exchanging enemy fire.</p><p>- Press Democrat Staff</p>