Military Homecoming

I (Bean) received a phone call to fill in as a photographer for a military homecoming this weekend. Apparently, in military fashion, there was no guaranty when or where the soldiers would be flying in. I was assigned to the John Wayne Airport, in Orange County. As far as I knew there would be three soldiers coming in on the flight. When I showed up though, there were far more soldiers expected–12 to be exact. It was not a huge charade or breaking new story, but the men who came home from Iraq, came home to proud cheers, loving arms, thankful tears and immense joy!  I imagine it made no difference to these heroes that there were no news cameras or flashy scene. They were with family again! I cried–I was in awe. There were times when I forgot that I was there to take pictures, the moment stopped my breath. Here are men, men who fought for our country, our safety, and protecting our freedoms, placing their lives in danger every minute for the last year standing right in front of me and they want no recognition, all they want is to hug their families. I am thankful for our troops!

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