thedrifter
03-30-08, 05:55 AM
March 30, 2008
A joyous homecoming for Evesham Marine
By LEO STRUPCZEWSKI
Courier-Post Staff
Jane Rittenburg stood in the driveway of a Marine she never met Saturday and started applauding the moment a motorcycle rounded the corner.
Her son, also a member of the military, came home from Ramadi, Iraq, two years ago. There was no homecoming celebration, no food donated by local supermarkets, no fire department hanging a 50-foot flag in the middle of the street.
"This is so awesome," she said, speaking over the sounds of sirens and horns. "That's why I'm here."
Truth be told, there wasn't a homecoming for Christopher MacReady, a lance corporal in the Marines, when he came home from Iraq in May 2006 -- and he had been shot at five times, saved by upgraded body armor, and had lived through seven improvised explosive device explosions.
One rocked him so hard it threw him against a wall and busted up his knee. He never told anyone, though, because a torn meniscus would have sent him home early, his father said. MacReady, a man who dreamed of being a Marine since elementary school, didn't want that.
This time, on the day of his medical separation from the Marines, friends, family, and people who never met him welcomed MacReady, 23, back in style.
The event resembled a Fourth of July block party, complete with yellow ribbons on trees, a tent full of food and dozens of people milling about the street and sidewalk.
"This is excellent," MacReady said. "It's really great to have this."
When MacReady returned from Iraq after an eight-month tour in May 2006, his family had a party for him and his sister, who had just graduated from Rutgers University.
But it wasn't a "hero's welcome."
So Leslie Drummond, founder of the Yellow Ribbon Club, set out to change that. She and her husband started organizing homecoming celebrations after MacReady's original return. Word surfaced recently of MacReady's medical separation and Drummond figured Saturday was a prime opportunity to provide him with what he missed the first time.
"He's been home and all," she said, "but this was a really good opportunity to come out and say "thank you.' "
That's exactly what people did.
Steve Kovalesky, who lives down the block from MacReady and learned of the celebration Friday night, showed up. So, too, did Mike and Agnes Trione, neighborhood friends, who remember MacReady as a baby.
Then there was Dale Shults -- a Marlton resident who never met the Marine, but wanted to say thanks. And there was the town's mayor, Randy Brown, who was also in attendance when Evesham resident and Marine Jeffrey Jayne had a homecoming celebration in October.
"I'm so proud of all our men and women that are serving," Brown said. "They deserve our full support when they come home."
Ellie
A joyous homecoming for Evesham Marine
By LEO STRUPCZEWSKI
Courier-Post Staff
Jane Rittenburg stood in the driveway of a Marine she never met Saturday and started applauding the moment a motorcycle rounded the corner.
Her son, also a member of the military, came home from Ramadi, Iraq, two years ago. There was no homecoming celebration, no food donated by local supermarkets, no fire department hanging a 50-foot flag in the middle of the street.
"This is so awesome," she said, speaking over the sounds of sirens and horns. "That's why I'm here."
Truth be told, there wasn't a homecoming for Christopher MacReady, a lance corporal in the Marines, when he came home from Iraq in May 2006 -- and he had been shot at five times, saved by upgraded body armor, and had lived through seven improvised explosive device explosions.
One rocked him so hard it threw him against a wall and busted up his knee. He never told anyone, though, because a torn meniscus would have sent him home early, his father said. MacReady, a man who dreamed of being a Marine since elementary school, didn't want that.
This time, on the day of his medical separation from the Marines, friends, family, and people who never met him welcomed MacReady, 23, back in style.
The event resembled a Fourth of July block party, complete with yellow ribbons on trees, a tent full of food and dozens of people milling about the street and sidewalk.
"This is excellent," MacReady said. "It's really great to have this."
When MacReady returned from Iraq after an eight-month tour in May 2006, his family had a party for him and his sister, who had just graduated from Rutgers University.
But it wasn't a "hero's welcome."
So Leslie Drummond, founder of the Yellow Ribbon Club, set out to change that. She and her husband started organizing homecoming celebrations after MacReady's original return. Word surfaced recently of MacReady's medical separation and Drummond figured Saturday was a prime opportunity to provide him with what he missed the first time.
"He's been home and all," she said, "but this was a really good opportunity to come out and say "thank you.' "
That's exactly what people did.
Steve Kovalesky, who lives down the block from MacReady and learned of the celebration Friday night, showed up. So, too, did Mike and Agnes Trione, neighborhood friends, who remember MacReady as a baby.
Then there was Dale Shults -- a Marlton resident who never met the Marine, but wanted to say thanks. And there was the town's mayor, Randy Brown, who was also in attendance when Evesham resident and Marine Jeffrey Jayne had a homecoming celebration in October.
"I'm so proud of all our men and women that are serving," Brown said. "They deserve our full support when they come home."
Ellie