Southern Tier Soldiers Return Home Today

As I sit here typing this, I have to keep wiping my eyes.  There’s nothing bad you can say about good people who serve our country.

I don’t know these two men, but my heart is so filled with joy in knowing that they’re coming home safe after spending a year in Afghanistan serving our country.

We just received a call from a Hawk listener who wanted to let us know that Ed Holmberg of Port Crane and Tom Rome of Kirkwood, both of the West End Avenue Armory, who served in the Army in Afghanistan for the past year will be returning home today.  Their flight is set to arrive at Binghamton Airport at around 2:20pm this afternoon.

I can’t even imagine the anticipation their families are feeling knowing that they’re just hours away from scooping up their loved ones in tight hugs.

If you’ve got some time today, I think it would be pretty awesome if you’re able to stop by the airport (around 2:20pm- might want to get there a little early) to stand in respect for these two men whose selfless duty is definitely something worth recognizing.

If you’ve got kids, this might be a great experience for them to be part of cheering on our soldiers as they return home. I'm sorry that I've got a doctor appointment today because I'd sure love to stand in support and love of these two incredible men.

If you're thinking about going in support of these men, but think it might be a little awkward, you need to push that right to the side because showing your support means more than you might ever know. After talking about our local boys coming home today, we received this note on our Facebook page from Mike Moseman of Chenango Forks:

I am a veteran of the OIF War from 2003. It is an awesome feeling to walk through an airport while in uniform and have people stop start clapping. Its very humbling. I remember on the way to and from Iraq we had a layover in Frankfurt, Germany and even over there they supported us the same way. When we came home we flew into Fort Drum so there was nobody but family waiting and that was nice too. My mother practically tackled me. God bless these troops and all others.

My friend Linda lives in the Philadelphia area and also wrote on our Facebook page:

Our local fire companies do a Hero's Welcome Home when a soldier from our community comes home. They meet them as they get off the bypass and this is close to my home, so they all stage in the parking lot next to me. My husband and son, being firefighters are always there to help. They give them a parade to their homes and I usually wind up with tears streaming down my face. My son said it is such an awesome experience to take these soldiers on the last leg of their journey to their home. I love that they do this!

Glenn and I LOVE that these firefighters do this and we think it’d be pretty awesome to try to do something like this for our soldiers when they return home from service. There's a not for profit organization called "A Hero's Welcome" which organizes these homecoming parades, but there isn't a local chapter. If you’re with a local fire company, police department or other civic organization and are interested in possibly organizing a Southern Tier Chapter of "A Hero's Welcome," please send an email to me here so we can see about getting this done and honoring those who so deserve it.