NATION

CHICOPEE, Mass.--Officials at Westover Air Force Base are promising a hero's welcome, day or night, for every U.S. soldier returning from the Persian Gulf.

They kept that promise when the first of the troops arrived in Westover yesterday and were greeted by cold beers and yellow streamers.

"This really makes you feel appreciated," said Sgt. Jimmy Jemison of the 7778th Maintenance Unit of the Alabama National Guard, which was heading for home in Jackson, Ala.

The welcome at Westover was assembled on just 30 minutes' notice after the C-5A cargo jet, originally scheduled to fly into Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, was diverted.

"This is the only base I know of that would do this," said the pilot, David Nelson, of Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. "Every time we've come through here, the people in the community have been just wonderful."

Westover, the nation's oldest Air Force Reserve base, and Dover have been the two main embarkation points for the giant C-5s that form the backbone of the U.S. airlift to and from the Persian Gulf.