MANCHESTER, N.H. – After months of added duty in Iraq and two postponed trips home, Master Sgt. Reggie Littlefield II waited one more hour.

Wearing a brown desert uniform and standing at attention with the rest of his Army unit, the 94th Military Police Company, the Auburn man listened as politicians and his commanders spoke.

Two bands played. One soldier passed out.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people watched and waited for the hugs and handshakes that would make this homecoming real.

It was such a long time coming.

“Reggie hasn’t seen his baby since she was two weeks old,” said Littlefield’s mother-in-law, Cece Huff, who watched the ceremony from the balcony of the JFK Coliseum. His wife, Penny, stood beside her mother as she held Molly Ann, now 11 months old.

“It must be killing him,” Huff said.

They were supposed to be gone one year.

The Army mobilized the 166-soldier reserve unit, whose members came from all over New England, in December 2002. They arrived in Iraq four months later.

In October 2003, the Pentagon changed the assignment, from supporting an armored cavalry regiment to aiding an airborne division. Their stay was lengthened again this April when enemy activity increased. They were reassigned to protecting convoys.

After the second extension, families met with members of their congressional delegations and with Pentagon leaders. The soldiers were finally due to arrive in the United States last Tuesday. That too was delayed after aircraft problems.

On Friday morning, 20 months after they left, their plane landed at Fort Drum, N.Y.

“It took everything I had not to hop in the car and go,” said Rose Henry, whose husband, Staff Sgt. Chris Henry, is a member of the unit.

But the military kept the family away. The soldiers could call, but visits were prohibited. Paperwork, briefings and medical exams were completed. The homecoming was set for Wednesday in Manchester.

Rose Henry, her family, and the families of several other soldiers met on the Maine Turnpike in Kennebunk, forming a convoy of cars decorated in yellow ribbons and “welcome home” messages.

For the 90-minute drive to Manchester, strangers honked and waved. By the time they reached the arena, their nerves were jangled.

“I don’t know what to feel,” Henry said. “I just know I’m crying all day. It’s a feeling you can’t explain.”

Nearby sat the family of Jeremiah Ayotte of Lewiston. They came in a decorated limousine.

And a few feet away, Penny Littlefield, Reggie’s wife, stood with a dozen family members. They included his three sisters and his father, Reggie Littlefield I.

At 1 p.m., right on time, the soldiers arrived. They marched in as an Army band played.

When she spotted her husband, Penny Littlefield blushed and put a hand to her cheek.

“That’s him,” she said, pointing to the tall soldier who walked beside his platoon.

“He looks just fantastic,” said Cece, who cried as she saw her son-in-law.

Moments later, little Molly Ann had her own welcome.

“Da, Da, Da,” she said, sitting on her mother’s lap. She was only an infant when her father last saw her. He had flown home for a short leave. Now, Molly is a toddler.

“That’s your Dada,” Penny said, pointing again to her husband, who stood solemnly on the arena floor.

Then, after the last speech and the last prayer, a military voice rang: “Dismissed!”

The soldiers scattered.

Reggie bounded over a waist-high wall and ran up a flight of stairs to Penny and the rest of his family. He hugged them all. He held his daughter.

“It’s good to be home,” he said.