An estimated 150 people welcome home U.S. Army Sgt. Neal Martin, who served 10 months in Afghanistan.
It might have been the first organized welcome-home ceremony for a veteran returning home from overseas in more than two decades. Organizers hope it won’t be the last.
An impromptu, grassroots ceremony on Monday morning welcomed home U.S. Army Sgt. Neal Martin, who returned to Oak Ridge after serving for 10 months in Afghanistan.
Val Emery, a friend of Martin’s wife Julie Martin, was the chief organizer.
“Every soldier deserves a hero’s welcome,” said Emery, who described herself as a “military brat” whose grandfather was killed in Laos in 1966 and has his name inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Organizer Val Emery is pictured at left. At right are Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank and Oak Ridge resident Andy Howe.
She estimated that about 150 people turned out, lining streets near the intersection of New York Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike on Monday morning, many waving flags and others holding “Welcome Home” signs.
The ceremony—which was triggered by a Super Bowl commercial and organized in part through a campaign that used Facebook, e-mail, phone calls, and local media—was a surprise for Martin.
“He had absolutely no idea,” Emery said. She said many local businesses changed their signs to welcome Martin home.
Sgt. Neal Martin hugs his son Andrew, 4. (Photo courtesy Jenna Rejman/Val Emery)
His family was escorted through the city by the Oak Ridge Police Department on Monday morning. Elected officials from Oak Ridge and Anderson County were joined at the ceremony by Anderson County Emergency Medical Services, community volunteers, business leaders, and children. Nearby, a flag draped from an Oak Ridge Fire Department ladder truck flapped high overhead.
“It makes me absolutely proud to be an American and an Oak Ridger,†said Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn, who helped organize the ceremony and has a son, Collin, serving in the U.S. Air Force in Afghanistan.
Two dozen or more Patriot Guard Riders also showed up Monday to show their respect for Martin.
“He’s a vet,†said Lee West of Oliver Springs.
An estimated 150 people line streets near Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue to welcome Martin home.
Clinton resident Larry Hale, who is senior ride captain for Patriot Guard Riders, said many of their missions are for memorials.
“This is way better than welcoming them home in a box,†Hale said.
Baughn said the last time there might have been an organized welcome-home ceremony for veterans was in 1991 for military personnel who had served in Desert Storm.
“I think we’re on track to become one of the leaders in the nation for honoring our veterans,†Baughn said. “What if we could do this for every returning vet?â€
A U.S. flag draped from the Oak Ridge Fire Department’s ladder truck flaps in the breeze near the ceremony.
Emery said this was Martin’s first tour in Afghanistan, but he deployed to Iraq a few years ago.
Note: This story was last updated at 2:57 p.m.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Sgt. Neal Martin and his family are escorted through the city by the Oak Ridge Police Department.
Supporters stand near the intersection of New York Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike. At left in background are Bret Baughn and Brad Heun.
Sgt. Neal Martin stopped at Hot Bagel after returning to Oak Ridge from a 10-month tour in Afghanistan on Monday morning. (Photo courtesy Donna Sullivan/Katie Sullivan)
Rob Woodward says
Thank you so much for your service Sgt. Neal Martin!
Great to see Mayor Frank, Brad Heun, Andrew Howe and everyone that showed up to lend their thanks. Kudos to Val Emery for a truly wonderful act of gratefulness and kindness!
Daniel Powers says
Welcome home Sgt. Neal Martin.
Philip W Nipper says
Allow a retired Senior Chief to greet you and say,
Job well done Soldier and welcome home!
Andrew Howe says
This was one of the best mornings I’ve had in town in the past decade. It was so wonderful to see so many citizens, policemen, fireman, EMS personnel, veterans, public officials, friends and family gather together to give Sgt Martin the respectful and heartfelt welcome due a career soldier.
I wanted to get to the City Council meeting tonight in time to publicly thank the ORFD and ORPD for their role in making this event happen in a safe and orderly manner, but wasn’t able to. THANK YOU to everyone from all walks of life and career for pulling together in the same direction.
And thank you Sgt Martin for your many years of service defending freedom, our country, and other countries across the globe.
Thank you to ALL our soldiers, present, past and future, stateside and worldwide for doing the same.
A vet once pointed out to me that the U.S.A. gets involved in global conflicts for one reason only: to promote the same kinds of liberties and freedoms we enjoy here at home every day and often take for granted. Given the scope of our military machine and global complexities that exist in our world, it is easy to forget that all the work we do as a nation to help promote freedom ultimately comes down to the personal sacrifices of individual men and women who put their own goals, dreams, passions, desires and needs on hold.
Thank you, one and all, for your time, labor, selflessness, strength and love.
MSB says
Welcome home Sgt. Martin! There are MANY Oak Ridgers that have deployed several times over that never received a welcome home of any sort from the citizens, on any level. This should be the norm, not the exception, in my opinion. I deployed four times and am now retired from active duty service and never so much as recieved a one line write up in any local paper but it feels good that the efforts are there now for those still serving. It’s overdue, that’s for sure.