PDA

View Full Version : Alpha Co. Marine set to come home in just over a week



thedrifter
03-17-08, 07:00 AM
Alpha Co. Marine set to come home in just over a week

Posted: March 16, 2008 09:51 PM

Updated: March 16, 2008 10:30 PM


by Tony Tagliavia

KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) --The April 2007 homecoming for the Marines of Alpha Company was, in some ways, incomplete.

A few families' loved ones had lost their lives on duty.

Joshua Hoffman left Iraq with his. But on the day of that homecoming, Hoffman sat in a hospital bed some 700 miles away.

"Everybody, once the ceremony was all done, they all went on the floor to meet with their loved ones. And we just stood up in the stands and watched," recalled Joel Lovell, whose daughter is Hoffman's longtime girlfriend.

Hoffman, who was released from the Marines in September as a corporal, was recovering after taking a sniper's bullet in the neck while serving in Fallujah.

"It felt like someone just kicked us," Gunnery Sgt. Lee Kyle told 24 Hour News 8. "It's not Josh the Marine that was hurt over there. It's Josh the brother that was hurt over there."

Kyle hasn't seen the man he says was one of Alpha Companys best since two months before that sniper's bullet left him paralyzed from the shoulders down.

Hoffman, who grew up in Wayland and was living in Kentwood before leaving for duty, is now expected to leave a VA hospital in Virginia and head home to Michigan in a little more than a week.

"It's just like getting a present that you know you're going to have forever," Hoffman's brother, Jacob Hoffman, said.

Jacob Hoffman says he talks to his brother just about every day now. Their talks typically center on just how soon the two will be able to spend more time together.

"It makes him smile. So that's a good thing," Jacob Hoffman said.

To be sure, those smiles will mix with frustration and pain in the coming months. For Josh Hoffman, the trip home does not mean he's fully recovered. At least for now, therapy will be his full-time job.

Josh Hoffman is off his ventilator. And when he has the energy, he can lift his arm and bring it to his chest.

They are hopeful signs for family, friends and fellow marines preparing to welcome him home.

"This kid's given up a lot," Lovell said. "We sure want to let him know we're all thinking about him too."

"We're going to do everything we can to make sure that Josh has as good of a homecoming if not better than what Alpha Company had back in April," Kyle said. "The Marines still remember that. We want to make sure Josh has the same thing."

Josh Hoffman is scheduled to return March 25. Family and friends hope the public will come out and welcome him. They hope to have an exact time soon. Stay with 24 Hour News 8 and woodtv.com for more information.

Ellie