Katherine Mackin, who is almost 3, was pleasantly unconcerned with all the military pomp going on around her Tuesday as Fort Lewis formally welcomed its latest Stryker brigade to return from the war in Iraq.

The 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division is home after nearly 15 months over there.

Katherine had a little song for the part that mattered most to her.

"My daddy's back," the little girl sang, skipping in Sponge Bob rubber sandals around her mom, Sandy.

"My daddy's ba-a-ack."

Lt. Col. Patrick Mackin, the brigade intelligence officer, and about 4,000 other soldiers were in the ranks Tuesday. The brigade closed the books on its Iraq deployment, reunited with some of its wounded, paid tribute to its 37 fallen and recognized two of its most valiant – one of them posthumously.

It was a mission that began ahead of schedule, when the brigade's departure was moved up a month to April 2007 to be part of the surge of U.S. forces into Baghdad. Over time most of its troops would move up to Diyala Province, a stronghold for insurgent fighters.

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U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, told the troops they left their area of operations in far better condition than it was when they got there.

Dicks thanked them for answering their nation's call, promised that he and others in Congress would see to their needs, and encouraged them to "look out for each other at home just as you did in the streets of Iraq" as they cope with life after their long time in the war zone.

"We are very proud of you today, and very grateful," the congressman said. "You all are heroes in the truest sense of the word."

Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby, the I Corps and Fort Lewis commander, thanked the soldiers' families for their support at home during the long deployment.

And to the soldiers he said despite "great challenges and hardships, the loss of comrades, a chaotic environment, and a ruthless enemy, your courage never wavered.

"... You took the fight into the strongholds of our enemies. You looked them in the eye. You took the worst they could do and you bested them."

The brigade presented Spc. Rodny Yefune with the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest award for combat valor, for his actions during an enemy ambush Feb. 17 near Baqouba.

Courtney Runyan accepted a Bronze Star for valor on behalf of her late husband, Cpl. Luke Runyan, who was killed in the same engagement.

Earlier in the ceremony, brigade commander Col. Jon Lehr called out for the wounded soldiers there to return to the ranks. About 50 moved forward, including Mike Hauser, whose comrades pushed his wheelchair out to join the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment.

Hauser suffered a serious head injury and other wounds in November when a woman wearing an explosive vest detonated herself near his Stryker.

After months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and at the Veterans Administration polytrauma center in Richmond, Va., he's been home in Lakewood for about a month, said his wife, Rachel, and her mom, Jeanie Davenport. The Hausers have a daughter, Kyli, who is nearly 1.

Seeing him rejoin his comrades was a powerful moment for the family.

"He's a miracle story," Rachel said. "We really weren't sure he was going to make it."

The ceremony was likewise a tonic for Paul Olson, who lost his son, Spc. Nicholas Olson, to an improvised bomb Sept. 18, 2007, in Muqdadiyah.

"I walked out here yesterday morning and the morning before at 5:30 just to talk to him, and this is my chance to honor him in a way that would be familiar to him and his friends," Olson said.

Soldiers and officers from his battalion welcomed him and shared time to talk about their memories of the 22-year-old from Novato, Calif.

"I miss my son, but this is the next best thing," Olson said. "It's the closest I'm going to get to him now. His spirit's here."