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Warm welcome ends long time away from home
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By Michelle Brooks
mbrooks@newstribune.com
American flags and handmade signs were waiving to squeals and clapping when the headlights of the American Legion Riders crested at Militia Drive, leading the bus of 17 returning soldiers to their last stop after 12 months in Afghanistan.
Sarah Findley and her son Austin met up with her sister Marianna, who was decked in red plaid, as they greeted their brother, Chief Warrant Officer James Kliethermes, as he got off the bus at the Ike Skelton Training Site in Jefferson City on Tuesday.
“He's been gone for a long time,” said Brooke Werdehausen, who left school early to greet her uncle.
The Missouri Embedded Training Team URF 8623 worked in an advisory role as an embedded tactical team with the Afghanistan National Army, helping build the first national army in the region since the Taliban seized control in 1996.
Before Kliethermes, Sgt. Maj. Steve Hiland stepped off the bus and into the eager arms of his wife, Lt. Col. Vicki Hiland.
The Hilands have been separated most of the last three years. Lt. Col. Hiland returned from 16 months in Iraq only five months before Sgt. Maj. Hiland deployed for this mission to Afghanistan.
“But when you both wear the uniform, that's what you've gotta do,” Lt. Col. Hiland said. “I'm glad to have him home safely (now).”
So the Russellville couple is looking forward to simply spending time with each other in the next few weeks.
And James Kliethermes' family is looking forward to having him at family gatherings again.
“It didn't feel like a holiday when he wasn't here to celebrate,” Findley said.
The more than 30 family, friends, co-workers and fellow Guardsmen who welcomed the soldiers Tuesday prior to their formal Welcome Home Ceremony appreciated the American Legion Riders, too.
“What the Legion Riders did was great,” Lt. Col. Hiland said.
This was the Riders' first escort for troops returning home, said Chapter 5 Director Bill Findley. And the newly formed group hopes to be involved with more troop-support events in the future, he said.
Several of the members took vacation or leave to participate in the escort from Concordia.
“They've done stuff for us,” Findley said. “A day's leave could never match what they've done.”
Sarah Findley and her son Austin met up with her sister Marianna, who was decked in red plaid, as they greeted their brother, Chief Warrant Officer James Kliethermes, as he got off the bus at the Ike Skelton Training Site in Jefferson City on Tuesday.
“He's been gone for a long time,” said Brooke Werdehausen, who left school early to greet her uncle.
The Missouri Embedded Training Team URF 8623 worked in an advisory role as an embedded tactical team with the Afghanistan National Army, helping build the first national army in the region since the Taliban seized control in 1996.
Before Kliethermes, Sgt. Maj. Steve Hiland stepped off the bus and into the eager arms of his wife, Lt. Col. Vicki Hiland.
The Hilands have been separated most of the last three years. Lt. Col. Hiland returned from 16 months in Iraq only five months before Sgt. Maj. Hiland deployed for this mission to Afghanistan.
“But when you both wear the uniform, that's what you've gotta do,” Lt. Col. Hiland said. “I'm glad to have him home safely (now).”
So the Russellville couple is looking forward to simply spending time with each other in the next few weeks.
And James Kliethermes' family is looking forward to having him at family gatherings again.
“It didn't feel like a holiday when he wasn't here to celebrate,” Findley said.
The more than 30 family, friends, co-workers and fellow Guardsmen who welcomed the soldiers Tuesday prior to their formal Welcome Home Ceremony appreciated the American Legion Riders, too.
“What the Legion Riders did was great,” Lt. Col. Hiland said.
This was the Riders' first escort for troops returning home, said Chapter 5 Director Bill Findley. And the newly formed group hopes to be involved with more troop-support events in the future, he said.
Several of the members took vacation or leave to participate in the escort from Concordia.
“They've done stuff for us,” Findley said. “A day's leave could never match what they've done.”
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