Bergdahl's parents said they were ecstatic to hear the news from President Barack Obama, whom they later joined at a news conference in the White House Rose Garden.
"We were so joyful and relieved when President Obama called us today to give us the news that Bowe is finally coming home!" Bob and Jani Bergdahl said in a statement released through the Idaho National Guard. "We cannot wait to wrap our arms around our only son."
A senior U.S. defense official said the Bergdahls, who live in Hailey, happened to be in Washington when they got the news their son had been freed in a deal that resulted in five Taliban members held at the U.S. facility in Guantanamo, Cuba, being turned over to Qatar.
"We want to thank Bowe's many supporters in Idaho, around the nation and around the world," the Bergdahls said.
Bergdahl, 28, the only known missing U.S. soldier in the Afghan war, was captured under unknown circumstances in eastern Afghanistan by militants on June 30, 2009, about two months after arriving in the country.
'PRETTY EXCITED'
Bergdahl was on his way to an American military hospital in Germany on Saturday, and it was not yet known when he would be coming back to the United States.
But news of his release prompted celebration in his hometown of Hailey, where residents were gathering at Zaney's River Street Coffee House. Cars honked their horns in support as they drove by the place, which had been decked with fresh yellow ribbons and banners reading "Bowe is Free at Last!"
"I'm beyond thrilled," said Stefanie O'Neill, a friend of the Bergdahls. "It's probably the happiest day of my life, besides when my two kids were born."
The town had been planning a vigil for June 28 as part of a long-running "Bring Bowe Back" campaign. That celebration will go ahead but will now be called "Bowe is Back," said O'Neill, one of the organizers.
Signs that read: "Standing with Bowe" decorate many storefronts in the community of about 8,000 people, which makes up part of an affluent resort region in central Idaho considered an international ski destination.
"The people of this community have been living with yellow ribbons around trees and yellow 'Bring Bowe Home' stickers plastered everywhere for so long that it won't seem real at first," said Mike McKenna, a town resident who publishes the Sun Valley Magazine. "But then, when Bowe finally comes back to Hailey ... the celebration will really begin."
Chip Deffe, operator of a local bike shop in Hailey and friend of the Bergdahls, said: "With them, it was never 'if Bowe comes home' but 'when Bowe comes home,'"
"Bowe has been in our prayers for years," Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter said in a statement. "Today Idaho gives thanks."
(Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis, Laura Zuckerman and Carey Gillam; Writing by Bill Trott; Editing by Jonathan Allen, Frances Kerry, Peter Cooney and Sandra Maler)
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