WEST POINT, N.Y. — A reunited group of former Iranian hostages is getting a rousing welcome from West Point cadets 30 years after returning to U.S. soil.

Thousands of cadets cheered on more than a dozen former hostages visiting the U.S. Military Academy for a weekend reunion starting today. Former hostage Bruce Laingen called the welcome overwhelming.

The former hostages will talk to cadets, tour the grounds and socialize. Also at the private event are veterans of the ill-fated military rescue mission that ended in a helicopter crash that killed eight U.S. servicemen.

Fifty-two hostages were released Jan. 20, 1981, after 444 days of captivity. They then flew into New York’s Hudson Valley, where thousands cheered as they rode buses to West Point for time with their families.