I cried this morning – happy tears – when I read Paul Post’saccount and watched WNYT’s Mark Mulholland’s video of a little girl in Schuylerville surprised at her school’s field day by the appearance of her father, who was deployed seven months ago. She didn’t know if she’d ever see him again, she said.

Thousands of stories could be told about the men and women who have served the U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan and about their readjustment as they return home. People need to hear those stories. And there needs to be a place where people can find and share related news and information.

The Saratogian is providing such a place at www.saratogian.com through a special project called American Homecomings.

Thanks to being among 75 daily news companies nationwide in the Digital First Media family, The Saratogian is able to bring you special reports that we would not have the wherewithal to provide on a strictly local level – like American Homecomings.

This year-long project includes interactive layers of frequently updated human interest stories, videos, pictures, blogs, news and information for and about returning veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and their families.

Eight veterans with different backgrounds and challenges and being tracked for the length of the project, and you can follow their lives at American Homecomings. You can also offer your comments, and even share your own stories and pictures.  

As we continue to report on our local veterans and provide live chats on related issues, we also call your attention to American Homecoming at www.saratogian.com and @AmerHomecomings. They are our stories, too.