Thursday, 4:30 PM
An emotional reunion after a year in Iraq
(Dominic Chavez/Globe Staff)
Tricia Clinton (left) cheered the arrival of her younger brother John Clinton and more than 200 other soldiers who returned home this morning after a year in Iraq.
By Anna Badkhen, Globe Correspondent
BEDFORD -- Family members holding balloons, yellow roses, American flags, and homemade signs erupted in applause when the 209 soldiers from the 399th Combat Hospital marched into a massive hangar this morning at Hanscom Field after a year in Iraq.
First Sergeant Shirley Martino, a grandmother of five from Haverhill, fought back tears while walking. From North Scituate, R.I., Colonel Susan Luz marched with a radiant smile.
The family of Captain Rebecca Scheible -- her parents, five children, and husband -- all wore white T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Welcome Home." When Scheible marched past, the captain couldn't resist and broke formation, picking up her daughter, Emma, and burying her face in the girl's long blond hair.
But most of the 399th had to wait one more painful hour before they could hug their families. They had spent 16 months away from home, which included 12 months in Iraq and four months in training at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. Now they had to sit through a welcome-home ceremony and listen to speeches from commanders and politicians.
"Profoundly thank you from a very proud nation and a very grateful nation," Senator John F. Kerry said in a speech while families fidgeted in rows of chairs set up behind the soldiers. In his speech, Governor Deval Patrick said: "Welcome home and thank you for a job exceptionally well done."
After about 15 minutes, while the Waltham High School band and chorus played, Martino, the first sergeant and grandmother of five from Haverhill, could wait no longer. She stood up from her seat in the front row and rushed toward her family.
"Come here," Martino said. "I'll hug you. Sixteen months. Come on."
She embraced her daughters, grabbed her grandson Travis and ran back to her seat.
Finally, Colonel Bryan R. Kelly, the 399th's commander, came up to the microphone and said the words all the soldiers had been waiting to hear: "Task force dismissed."
A roar filled the hangar as soldiers and families rushed toward each other to embrace.
Luz, the colonel from North Scituate, hugged her husband, George, with her eyes closed and her hands under his wool sport coat. Luz opened her eyes and looked up at her husband.
"I'm going home," she said.
