Report posted for RC Cheryl Riley


The weather was co-operative for a March day in northern Illinois. We had a possible new recuit come to see what it is we do. Dorothy had seen a little something on a facebook page on line and made a contact. We also had “Butch” (a wounded retired marine) stop by just because he saw the flags and knew it had to have something to do with a Vet. He stayed long enough to say Thanks and shakehands with Cpl Meyer then he disappeared.

This Welcome Home was a real surprise to Kevin. He married his high school sweetheart Jessica before he deployed to Iraq. So now Jessica and her grandparents go to O’hare to pick him up while we stage and set up a flag line. As their car pulls into the staging area parking lot the smiles on everyones faces grew 10 fold, from the 4 in the car to those in the flagline. It was great. We passed out hugs and handshakes, thank yous and well wishes then got back into cars/trucks or on the 6 bikes that braved the March weather, and proceded with the help of LEO.

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Once again the LEO support from Kildeer, DeerPark, Lake Zurich, Wauconda, Island Lake and McHenry including the McHenry Fire Dept was outstanding. As we pulled into the flaglined drive to the VFW hall you could see the large crowd of people who came out to see this young marine. It took about a 1/2 hour just to get everyone into the building. I started out by thanking everyone for coming out to show their support of Kevin. I then turned to Kevin and thanked him and presented him with a coin and a set of beads. As I explained to him the meaning of the colored beads you could see the overwhelming emotions on his face. With a hug and a thank you, I turned the floor over to the McHenry Mayor, who as always did a wonderful job welcoming home another one of our heroes. After reading the proclimation she then gave it framed, to Kevin. She said this is one of her most rewarding parts of her job.

Members of the local VFW and American Legion made presentations and made Cpl Meyer a member of each organizations.

Cpl Meyer then took the mic and thanked everyone for coming out and showing their love and support of him but “not to forget his fallen comrades, his brothers and sisters who will not get a homecoming like this..” “This was something I never expected and will never forget.”

As the WWR members faded into the sunset, we left Kevin to enjoy his next 10 days with Jessica and his family and friends before going back to Camp Pendleton.

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This was my first mission as an RC. It was a short notice mission but with the help of a few good people and you know who you are, it went pretty smoothly. But then I shouldn’t be surprised when it’s all about how to thank the troops!’