POSTED FOR JOHN DELIVERS

After a fulfilling morning spent laying wreaths around Southern NJ, and
then chatting it up with Betsey and Stephanie Wilno, it was time to switch
gears.  We rolled over to FireBase69 to share in the joy of welcoming home
Anthony Crespo.

A dozen WWR bikes and one WWR cage were on hand to escort Anthony’s wife
Tina, and their children, Alexander, Shelby, and Kainen to PHL from
Firebase69.  As luck would have it, we had the airport to ourselves, nary
a soul in sight.  We pulled along the curb and made our way inside to set
a flag line at the base of the escalator.  A-Heroes-Welcome was kind
enough to come out to the airport to help us out.  I had feared that our
numbers would be small due to the wreath laying going on in both PA and NJ
earlier in the day.  But on a cold and windy day our numbers were good, so
it was quite a turnout we had.

While we waited, a man approached us and said his son, Matt, was coming
home from Iraq this afternoon as well.  He was picking him up to head home
to Mt. Laurel, NJ.  If Vineland wasn’t such a long ride, we would have
been happy to escort Matt and his Dad home too. Matt was on the same
flight as our guy too.  But it just wasn’t in the cards today.  We did
give Matt an enthusiastic Welcome Home.  In addition, he pocketed a
magical coin as a token of our appreciation for his efforts and service to
this great land of ours.

Just as we got through thanking Matt for all he’s done, Anthony was
coming down the escalator.  More hand shakes, back slaps, and hugs to go
around.  As we were heading out the doors of the airport, more WWR
faithful joined our ranks.  Butterfingers, her parents, and Doc Kromer had
just finished the SE PA wreath run and wanted in of the fun.  Anthony got
a triple whammy at PHL.  His family and A-Heroes-Welcome met him upstairs,
we hit him with a flag line at the escalator, and then he got hit again as
he stepped outside.  And the fun was just getting started.

As we approached the Walt Whitman Bridge, two NJ State Troopers were lying
in wait for us.  One took the lead with lights flashing, while the other
took tail-gunner.  What a smooth ride it becomes with two LEO’s on
board.  NICE!  When we got near our exit in Vineland, Officer Tesorono, a
Vineland Motor Officer, was waiting for us and took the lead into town.
The Troopers stayed with us to the end, they wanted to shake this hero’s
hand as well.

A few miles later we pulled into the fire house parking lot to rousing
applause from Anthony’s family, friends, members of the American Legion
and of The Last Patrol, and our extended family, The Yellow Ribbon Club,
who were all waving American flags.  The Fire Company was out in full
force with two engines and a huge American Flag hanging down from the
ladder trucks.  It was a very patriotic display, to say the least.

Inside the Fire Hall, Jack Enea and his band played a song called “Red,
White and Blue”.  If you’re not careful, it can cause your eyes to
start sweating.  Presentations were made to Anthony by several people, the
WWR’s Grease among them.  Anthony was very thankful for the appreciation
shown to him. 

All things considered, this was a great day to be a part of the Warriors
Watch family.  Wreath Laying in at least three states, with Welcome Home
rides in at least two states.  Does it get any better?

Thanks to everyone for coming out to support Anthony Crespo.  To the NJ
State Police, Vineland PD, Vineland FD, A-Hero’s-Welcome, Last Patrol,
American Legion, Yellow Ribbon Club, and Enea, thank you.

JohnDelivers for RedBeard

http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a115/JohnDelivers/13DEC08%20Anthony%20Crespo%20Mission/