Been two months now.....

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Well, it's been two months since my last post. Lots has happened. But this post will be happily submitted regarding the home-coming of my Marine Son Cpl. Dan. It was a wild scene at Camp Lejeune's Court House Bay housing complex when the Marines of the 4th Amphibian Assault Battalion, H & S, 2nd and 3rd platoons returned from their second deployment in Iraq. Families, friends and fellow Marines were on hand to welcome everyone home.

We arrived at Jacksonville, NC (just outside Camp LeJeune) the day before the Marines arrived and we set up (along with all the other parents and families) miles of welcome home banners. It was truly a site to see.
(click on the photo to enlarge then hit back button to return here)

The arrow points to our banners, the big yellow one and the white one between the American Flag and the Marine Corps Flag, both of which (flags) we brought with us. The Marine welcoming committee set up a huge tent and supplied the families with refreshments (pizza and sodas). Jay took video pictures with my Kodak digital camera. He stood up on the balcony to get a good view when the busses arrived and yelled like hell as soon as he saw his brother, Dan, get off the bus.

After we hugged Dan (Rachel and I) Dan ran to hug Jay, who at the same time ran down from the balcony. With tears of joy, the two brothers hugged and held on for quite awhile.

As soon as the Marines were released, we took Dan back to our hotel to "freshen up" and then out to dinner at his favorite restaurant, The Texas Roadhouse. Dan had his last resturant meal there before leaving in January and his first upon return... fitting...no?

We had a fine time, ate and drank well and then went back to the hotel to rest and talk and talk and talk. It was great seeing him home again. Everyone commented how much Dan and I look alike... I see it too...

On the left is me as a USMC Sgt (circa 1973) and Dan (taken at this years Marine Corps ball, more on that later)

Well, he's home...For awhile anyway... He's fixed up his room to his liking ( I think) and is now taking a long deserved rest. None of us know what the future holds...But we hope it's not another trip back to the sand-box. Later...