FORT LEWIS - A big welcome home for the 300 soldiers who've been saving lives in Iraq. They are the doctors, nurses, medics and staff members of the 47th Combat Support Hospital at Fort Lewis.

They're finally home after a year in the midst of the conflict.

Sgt. Amber Duvall holding son is asked, "How tough is it being away from him like that?" "It was hard, but it's over," he answered.

The Combat Support Hospital handled more than 900 lifesaving emergency operations, 2,300 surgeries and 6,800 emergency room situations.

They handled everything from roadside bomb injuries, gunshot wounds and vehicle accident victims.

Because of the speed with which the injured are delivered to the hospital, they we're able to save 96% of the patients who otherwise would have died.

"The saying is that if you can get somebody to the Army CSH within an hour, chances are they will survive. We proved it over and over that that was the case," says unit commander Col. Jim Polo.

There were some tough calls to make, especially when they had an Iraqi insurgent who needed medical treatment along with a U.S. soldier. How they made that decision to go to the Iraqi insurgent if he was more critically injured.

"It is hard sometimes treating people that you know maybe have hurt soldiers or were trying to hurt soldiers, but we're bound ethically to take care of them," says Col. Polo. "In some ways it helps us actually show their society why we are different, why freedom makes a difference and why democracy is important and why it is we care for everybody regardless of what they believe or where they come from."

Maj. Richard Reid says, "Actually that's easy because Jesus Christ teaches us to love our enemy as much as our neighbor."

And alongside the combatants were the children. The 47th handled all casualties of war.

"Well, we had a lot of kids come in to the hospital. There were a lot of kids, sad," Sgt. Duvall says. But they were there for them.

And perhaps that's why coming home to arms of their own children is that much sweeter.