Pease Greeters Welcome Troops Home for Christmas

Hundreds of Pease Greeters filled the Portsmouth International Airport terminal on Christmas Eve to greet troops who were returning home from the War in Afghanistan.

According to WMUR, members of the Portsmouth-based group cheered and applauded the men and women soldiers, shook their hands and thanked them for their service. The television news station reported the soldiers were headed home for the holidays after serving in the Middle East for the past year.

Since the Pease Greeters were formed in 2005, the group has welcomed more than 200,000 soldiers on 425 planes and counting, according to Chuck Cove, the group's chairman. Regardless of when these troop charter flights touch down in Portsmouth, the Pease Greeters turn out in full force with patriotic signs, cheers and applause for the military men and women who walk into the terminal.