WEST POINT — Former Iranian hostages reuniting 30 years after their release were greeted by a long line of cheering, applauding cadets yesterday, echoing the rousing hostage reception at the upstate New York military academy in 1981.

More than a dozen former hostages visiting the US Military Academy for a weekend reunion kicked off the day with a short walk into a stiff, snowy wind past a cordon of 4,400 shouting cadets.

Some of the hostages took time to shake hands with the camouflage-and-fleece-clad cadets, thanking them for the grand welcome.

“I can’t describe it. It’s a little too much. We’re all overwhelmed,” former hostage Bruce Laingen said with a big smile as he walked into the first of a series of private meetings with West Point cadets and faculty.

Fifty-two hostages were released on Jan. 20, 1981, after 444 days.