A Military Homecoming

A little while ago, Kim emailed me about doing something a little out of our wedding routine.  Her husband John had been serving in Afganistan for over 7 months as a reconnaissance marine.  Their tour had been particularly difficult, full of heavy combat, and 4 of the men, including John, received purple hearts.  The way she talked about her husband was inspiring.  John has been in reconnaissance for 18 years, staggering for such a physical job.  Because of his experience, he’s able to mentor the younger members of his battalion, and from what I saw at the homecoming, they are all very grateful and really look up to him a lot.

To add to the sweetness of the reunion, Kim and John have a 4 year old son.  Mason could not have been happier to see his dad and couldn’t stop moving as we waited.

I was definitely tearful as I looked around the room at the hundreds of families being reunited. The marine below (I found out later) leads one of the battalions.  I loved watching his daughter, just moments after seeing him, share her hurt elbow.