Patti Thielbar, with daughter Brooke, and twins Levi and Luke, wait for the returen of Brock Thielbar in Pipestone.By Lori EhdeAnticipation mounted Wednesday afternoon as National Guardsmen kept in touch with Luverne and Pipestone communities during their bus ride home.Members of the First Battalion, 125th Artillery wheeled through Luverne in a chartered bus around 4 p.m. Wednesday.They returned to the United States last week after a six-month deployment in England, and departed from Ft. McCoy, Wis., Wednesday morning.Because the National Guard Armory in Luverne is under construction, local families had to greet their returning guardsmen in Pipestone.The bus couldn’t stop in Luverne on its way through, but Luverne residents and merchants were able to greet the bus on its way through Luverne.Formal community welcome home ceremonies were planned for today in Luverne and Pipestone. The Star Herald will provide coverage of that ceremony in its March 25 edition.Local Guard members served in England primarily as additional security officers. Their duties included things such as checking IDs and patrolling bases.There are 93 affected members in the 125th Field Artillery that includes Luverne and Pipestone. Of those, 55 serve duty at the National Guard Training and Community Center in Luverne.Twenty-three of those live in Rock County and 21 live in Nobles County.