SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — Sgt. Terence Tomori doesn't feel heroic. Or that he made history.

But there were elements of both in the 10 months he spent in Kuwait with the 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery. The 'Aiea man was part of the biggest combat deployment of Hawai'i citizen soldiers since the Vietnam War.

Yesterday, Tomori and 76 other Hawai'i National Guard soldiers returned home to a standing ovation from several hundred family, friends and children they hadn't seen for the better part of a year. They were greeted by balloons, "welcome home" posters and spouses anxiously waiting.

"Hero? No. Making history? Not me personally," said Tomori, 30, who worked at the Nu'uanu YMCA before he was mobilized 15 months ago. "I'm just happy that I got to do my part for the country when it needed me."

Waihona Race, 27, of 'Ewa Beach, who waited in the gym at Schofield with her 4-year-old daughter, Cameron, for Sgt. Louis Race, said the separation was "very emotional."

"You feel empty," she said. "Although you talk to each other 10 times through the day and e-mail, you still feel that emptiness and I worry. They are on the base, but you never know what happens."

The 61 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery, who returned yesterday are the "advance" party that will prepare the way for about 350 more Guard soldiers to return in early December.

Meanwhile, 16 soldiers with the 227th Engineer Battalion also returned from Kuwait.

The 1st Battalion, 120th Field Artillery, of the Wisconsin National Guard is assuming security duties at Kuwait Naval Base, and that will allow the Hawai'i unit to return home.

The bulk of the 2,200 Hawai'i Guard and Reserve soldiers who deployed with the 29th Brigade Combat Team — most of whom are serving in Iraq — will return home in January after the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections.

"We are glad that this first group will be reunited with their families, especially as we near the holidays," Gov. Linda Lingle, who was in Washington, D.C., said in a statement. "But we cannot forget those who are still serving overseas and the sacrifices they are making to defend freedom and democracy."

The Iraq and Kuwait duty represent the first time the 29th Brigade has been sent to war since the Vietnam War.

About 4,000 part-time soldiers were mobilized at Schofield Barracks in 1968-69. Of those, about 1,100 were sent to Vietnam as replacement troops for other units.

The Hiki No "Can Do" soldiers of the 1-487 knew they would have a largely nonartillery role in Operation Iraqi Freedom. They were trained as infantrymen and expected to serve in Iraq, but were assigned the base security mission in Kuwait instead.

The soldiers worked in 120- to 130-degree heat, and largely remained on bases such as Kuwait Naval Base, where the primary source of off-duty recreation is a 1,100-meter concrete pier curving into the Persian Gulf from which soldiers can fish.

"A part of me was really glad I was in a safer area," Tomori said. "But another part of me really felt for our brothers in arms in Iraq facing danger every day."

There have been no combat injuries for the Hawai'i soldiers in Kuwait. Sixteen soldiers with the 29th Brigade have been killed in Iraq, most from other Pacific islands and the Mainland.

If he had been offered the chance to go to Iraq, "that would be a 50-50 yes, no" decision, Tomori said.

At 2:30 p.m., the soldiers filed into Martinez gymnasium at Schofield in desert camouflage uniforms, and stood at attention in three rows beneath a 20-foot American flag before being dismissed and rushing into the arms of loved ones.

"From the plane, I saw the whole island. Pretty cool," said Spc. Ciril Guisadio, 23, of Hono-lulu, who was going to school at Hawai'i Business College before the deployment.

"I couldn't believe I was here. It's not kicking in yet," he said in the gym, at least seven lei piled around his neck.

The troops will remain on active duty for perhaps a month more as they go through briefings, counseling and a mental health assessment, but will get to be with families during off hours.

Staff Sgt. Gel Agcaoili, 38, of 'Ewa Beach, one of the 227th Engineer soldiers, said being back for Thanksgiving and Christmas "absolutely means the world to my family."

"My hero is my wife, Brandi. She is the hero of this battle we've gone through," said the Guard recruiter and father of five.

About 100 of the field artillery soldiers are attached to units in Iraq and won't be coming home until January. The battalion is not planning any big parties until then.

Waihona Race said her husband decided after this deployment to leave the Guard.

"He wants to get out, and we (the family) want him to get out. We don't want to be apart, that's the main thing," she said.

Cathleen Nebre, pregnant and with two boys, ages 4 and 8, said her husband, Staff Sgt. Jonathan Nebre, 38, plans to remain in the Guard another 10 years. Her husband, who is with the 1-487 and works at the Wahiawa armory in his civilian job, has been in the Guard for 18 years .

"He kind of told me he might have to go on another tour of duty," Cathleen Nebre said. "I'd rather he not, but it's part of the job."

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.