As Senior Airman Zach Taylor descended on an escalator in the Portland International Jetport Friday, a large crowd waited below to greet him and 12 others from his National Guard unit.

Among them were members of his family and nine third-grade students, who began screaming as they saw the soldier from Gorham whose picture had been in their classroom. The students held a banner they had made that read, “Welcome home, Mr. Zach.”

“They saw him and started yelling and screaming,” Greater Portland Christian School teacher Augusta Fillmore said Tuesday. “He hugged them.”

A member of the 265th Combat Communication Squadron based in South Portland, the 20-year-old Taylor had been in Iraq since September.

Taylor, a 2005 high school graduate of Greater Portland Christian School, is the sixth veteran Fillmore’s students have adopted since the war in Iraq began. The class had been writing Taylor letters, and he had been writing back.

At Thanksgiving, Fillmore’s students filled a box with essentials like toothpaste and soap along with snacks for Taylor. The package weighed 17 pounds. Taylor said all the letters and care packages were “greatly appreciated.”

Taylor was also greeted by family members, including three sisters, two brothers, grandparents and his mother. Taylor said many of them were crying as he hugged them.

“It was tearful and cheerful,” said Sandra Handy, who lives in Gorham. “It was amazing, quite a crowd.”

Taylor enlisted at 17, as a part of a family tradition. His grandfather served in Vietnam. In Iraq, he was stationed at Kirkuk Regional Airbase, where he worked on computers.

Taylor said they were attacked a few times but no one in his outfit was injured. When attacks came, usually between 7 to 10 p.m., he and his buddies donned their “battle rattle” – flak jacket and helmet. “It became old hat. We knew what to do.”

Taylor volunteered for duty in Iraq. He said the experience was worthwhile because he worked with great people and learned about his job and himself.

“I learned not to take things for granted,” said Taylor, who said people in Iraq have little.

Taylor e-mailed home almost daily and telephoned once a week. For recreation, he lifted weights in a gym and ran. He bulked up 10 pounds.

At Christmas, care packages from home arrived with desktop artificial Christmas trees. A priest held Christmas Mass on base.

As Taylor and fellow veterans prepared to return, an unusual touch of home greeted them in Iraq. “It snowed for the first time in 80 years right before we left,” said Taylor, who added the Maine troops cheered.

Taylor plans to enroll at the University of Southern Maine in the fall while staying in the National Guard.

Taylor said Tuesday it was a relief to come home. “I was overwhelmed, it was great to see everybody,” Taylor said. “Definitely good to be home and with the people I love.”