JAMESTOWN (AP) - Family, members and friends gathered for a formal salute to the North Dakota National Guard's 817th Engineer Company, a unit with 104 soldiers who returned in June from a yearlong deployment to Iraq.

Guard officials said the 817th conducted more than 575 patrols searching for explosives and other obstacles, cleared more than 50,000 miles of roads and removed 119 explosive devices.

Maj. Gen. Dave Sprynczynatyk, the state Guard commander, said the unit's work "went a long way in increasing the safety in Iraq for both military forces and civilians."

The Guard said 67 soldiers of the 817th had been deployed at least once before. A Purple Heart was awarded during Sunday's ceremony to Sgt. Justin Fisher, a member of the 817th who was wounded in action.