The soldiers rode the train from Herington to Wichita. Union Pacific had offered similar treks to soldiers in other parts of the country. This was the first one in the Midwest.

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Top to bottom:

• The train passes through a bridge south of Marion, toward Peabody.

• Soldiers and their families walked along the street to be accept the appreciation of those who clustered around them.

• Children were mesmerized by the sight of the soldiers.

• Marion matriarch Norma Hannaford, 103, came in a golf cart to greet the soldiers. She remembers greeting soldiers in World War I and II.

• The train arrives in Marion with color guards at attention and observers armed with cameras.

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