We converged upon the Fresno airport, we friends and families and unit members, holding our signs and flags and flowers.

We waited, looking down the hallway past the security checkpoints.

We got all excited to see people walking in, only to realize that they weren’t in uniform.

But then they were, and they were ours, and there were tears and hugs and mobs and homecomings. The fathers hadn’t seen their children or wives for eight months, and some hadn’t ever met their babies before. The little ones were excited and the big ones were too.

And then he was home, and all was right with our worlds. Welcome home, Jeff.