I'll never forget when my son came home from Iraq. We were living in another state, and had to drive over 1500 miles to his state armory. Of course, it was tricky planning vacation from my husband's employment as we didn't know the exact date of the homecoming. But, with good faith, we left as planned and prayed that it would all work out - that we would come home with our son. We arrived at our friend's house after driving 1500 miles and waited. They didn't have internet, so each day, we would go into town (about 20 miles away) to check our email. At the last possible day for everything to work out, we got the email we had been waiting for! They would be home the next day! I will never forget the sight of the Patriot Guard rounding the top of the hill (even typing this brings tears to my eyes and makes my breath catch)...and then the buses that carried our precious soldiers. It was such a wonderful moment indeed when I saw my son for the first time!
When he came home from Afghanistan, we experienced an equally proud moment and at the same time, it was bittersweet. Unlike the Iraq tour, this tour saw several members of his unit KIA, one was my son's Lieutenant who was well loved by his men. His widow was there to see the unit return. As the soldiers marched in, my husband saw our son first, pointed him out, and I just could not believe he was home after such a long and hard deployment. When my son saw us standing there, my husband said, he smiled just a little. I think my son felt guilty for coming home, while 14 others did not. He had told us that we really didn't need to be there, that he would find a ride home. I told him that nothing would keep me away from greeting him and the others. I think his smile showed us that he was glad we were there!
Oklahoma City, OK