With each person who turned the corner toward security, anticipation rose.

The members of Kyle Thompson's family wished he sat closer to the front of the plane. As the five other soldiers exited the security doors at the Bismarck Municipal Airport, the family clapped in support, still waiting for that first glimpse of Thompson.

"It's been over a year," said Kacie Thompson, since she'd seen her brother. "It's an emotional day."

Thompson, a member of the U.S. Army 1-89th, 2nd brigade, was coming home from Iraq, where he served 15 months. Toward the tail end of passengers, Thompson came toward security, with his parents. A whoop came up from the family and friends gathered outside the doors.

As soon as he was through the doors, he was bombarded with hugs. With each hug he received, the family members left with tears.

"It's emotional because we're very close," said his aunt, Carla Thompson-Kuntz. She drove from Minneapolis to be here for his homecoming.

"Every place I stopped between Minneapolis and here knows about Kyle coming home," she said.

The welcome didn't end with the hugs. His uncles linked arms with him and led him down the stairs to the center of the terminal. Former Three Affiliated Tribes chairman Tex Hall presented him with an eagle feather headdress, then a drum group played and sang songs of welcome and success in war.

"It meant a lot to me because of my heritage," Thompson said.

With each drum beat, the tears dried.

Thompson appeared stoic as he walked in a circle during the drum songs. His family says he is usually quiet, and he was feeling overwhelmed from what was happening, he said.

"He fought for that," said his mother, Mary Thompson. "We wanted that for him."

He was given a headdress at a naming ceremony this summer, when he was given the name War Eagle. He gave the headdress to the elder who gave him the name, his mother said.

The headdress presentation and drum group were arranged by Kyle Thompson's parents and his cousin, Tiffany Johnson.

"I was his baby sitter when he was first born," she said. "It was my summer job."

Now her cousin is grown-up and following in his father's footsteps. His father was in the Air Force, Johnson said.

"It was something he wanted to do," she said.

His family sees him as disciplined, quiet and reserved.

"He's got a good heart," said his sister Kacie Thompson. "We all love him."

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)