Shaffer
06-05-03, 08:39 AM
Gayle Johnson made a promise to herself when her son, Marine Reserve Lance Cpl. Shawn Johnson, left in January to serve in Iraq. Each day, she would wear red, white and blue until he returned home.
“I just felt closer to him,” said the Springfield woman, decked out in a flag-theme sweater and hat, as she waited for her son to step off a bus at his unit’s headquarters, 410 N. Gettysburg Ave.
The crowd of more than 80 people cheered wildly and waved their welcome home signs above their heads as the dark blue school bus carrying the 28 Marine mortuary affairs reservists pulled into the parking lot. The casually dressed reservists, who came through Dayton International Airport on a commercial flight from Camp Pendleton, Calif., were quickly swarmed by their families.
“Happy to be home,” Johnson, 22, a 1999 Kenton Ridge High School graduate, said between kisses from his girlfriend, Jennie Osborn. Johnson’s father, Bob, Osborn’s 4-year-old son, Preston, and a family friend also were there to welcome him home.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0605return.html
“I just felt closer to him,” said the Springfield woman, decked out in a flag-theme sweater and hat, as she waited for her son to step off a bus at his unit’s headquarters, 410 N. Gettysburg Ave.
The crowd of more than 80 people cheered wildly and waved their welcome home signs above their heads as the dark blue school bus carrying the 28 Marine mortuary affairs reservists pulled into the parking lot. The casually dressed reservists, who came through Dayton International Airport on a commercial flight from Camp Pendleton, Calif., were quickly swarmed by their families.
“Happy to be home,” Johnson, 22, a 1999 Kenton Ridge High School graduate, said between kisses from his girlfriend, Jennie Osborn. Johnson’s father, Bob, Osborn’s 4-year-old son, Preston, and a family friend also were there to welcome him home.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0605return.html