Troop Reviews and a Fond Farewell

A “welcome home” for thousands of U.S. troops and a “so long” from one TV icon are on tap this weekend.

Harry Reasoner, one of the original correspondents on “60 Minutes,” signs off for the final time Sunday at 7 p.m. on Channels 2 and 8. “I’m Harry Reasoner. Most of us will be back next Sunday with another edition--volume 23, number 36 to be exact--of ’60 Minutes.’ Good night,” will be his goodby.

The veteran newsman taped his farewell Thursday, and the show will contain remarks about his work from his colleagues, including Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley and Andy Rooney.

Reasoner, 68, who has twice had surgery for lung cancer in the past four years, will carry the title of editor emeritus and might contribute to the show on occasion. He was a founding member of “60 Minutes” when it premiered in 1968. He left the show in 1970 to anchor the evening news on ABC with Barbara Walters but returned in 1978.

Reasoner’s final story will be a repeat of a 1981 report on the making of the movie “Casablanca.” The show also includes reports on the famine in the Sudan and life in Berlin.

“Hollywood’s Welcome Home Desert Storm Parade” is on Sunday at 4 p.m. on KTLA Channel 5. Bob Eubanks and Leeza Gibbons host the live telecast, which will feature more than 4,000 troops who participated in the war against Iraq. KMPC-AM (710) will simulcast the event, and KNBC Channel 4 will include coverage of the parade in its 4 p.m. newscast.