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Crowd cheers USS Roosevelt's return

Sailors wave as the USS Roosevelt pulls into port Wednesday in Norfolk, Virginia.

NORFOLK, Virginia (CNN) -- The first of five ships returning from the war against terrorism docked Wednesday in Norfolk, Virginia, where about 15,000 family members awaited the return of U.S. Navy and Marine personnel.

Sailors lined the decks of the USS Theodore Roosevelt as the aircraft carrier pulled into port shortly after 9 a.m. EST following a record 189 days at sea. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower set the previous record with a 152-day deployment in 1980.

Men whose children were born during their absence got the privilege of disembarking first from the Roosevelt, and other personnel followed according to rank. A banner hanging from the ship read, "Freedom Endures."

CNN NewsPass VIDEO The first aircraft carrier to deploy after the September 11 attacks returned to port after 189 days at sea. CNN's Bob Franken reports (March 28) Play video   EXTRA INFORMATION Gallery: Heroes welcomed home

Men and women waited along the shore with welcome home signs, flowers and pinwheels. One banner read "Billy Our Hero" in honor of a sailor who joined the Navy last year and was completing his first cruise.

The Roosevelt, which was deployed in the Arabian Sea, is among four ships bringing U.S. troops Wednesday to Norfolk. The three others in the returning battle group are the guided missile cruisers USS Leyte Gulf and USS Vella Gulf and the destroyer USS Peterson.

The USS Detroit will return Wednesday to Earle Naval Weapons Station in New Jersey.

More than 7,000 sailors and Marines were aboard the five ships.

A woman who emigrated from Russia in 1990 with her husband was among the waiting crowd Wednesday.

'We became citizens, and he joined the military," she said. "Seeing this ship, this is the most beautiful thing in the world because we came here for freedom."

About 40 Navy and Marine fliers stationed on the USS Roosevelt returned Tuesday to Norfolk. Other pilots from the Roosevelt arrived Tuesday at various military bases in the United States, including ones in Florida and South Carolina.