Flags, signs, hugs and handshakes welcome a reservist who has served in Iraq for more than a year. "It's overwhelming," he said of the reception.
By AARON SHAROCKMAN, DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD and RICHARD DANIELSON
Published April 9, 2004
[Times photo: Douglas Clifford]
Four-year-old Alyssa Sanchez of Tampa places flags in the front yard of her grandmother's home on Meres Boulevard in Tarpon Springs in anticipation of the homecoming of reservist Jason Hess.
[Times photo: Willie Allen Jr.]
Terri Hess hugs her son, Pfc. Jason Hess, after the 320th Military Police Company arrived in St. Petersburg Soldiers return to hugs, fears 10 News: (56k
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TARPON SPRINGS - For 98 days, the Hess family used a 5-by-7-foot sign in their front yard to tell passers-by when their son Jason would return from Iraq.
Each day, as the number dropped, community interest grew.
Thursday, the sign along Meres Boulevard had changed to read:
Jason is Home. Open House.
And around dinnertime, Jason Hess, 23, returned to a hero's welcome and a town's embrace.
"This family put a face on what's happening in the Middle East," said June Scartz, 36, who helped organize the welcome. "But this is for everybody who has served or is serving and coming home."
About 100 neighbors, friends, Girl Scouts and well-wishers lined Meres Boulevard as Robert and Terri Hess brought their son home. For the trip through town, they had a Tarpon Springs police escort so they could take their time and wave to the crowd that had turned out to greet them.
And for more than a mile along Meres Boulevard, nearly 140 hand-painted signs greeted Jason. Each bore the name of a local family.
The Smiths, the Shermans and the Ferrones, among many others, all said thanks in red, white, and blue.
"He is our hero," said Erin Mullins, an 11-year-old fifth-grader who helped paint the signs. "He was defending our freedom. He put himself in danger for us."
Hess was one of 145 members of the 320th Military Police Company to come home Thursday. The reserve unit left in February 2003 and returned to Fort Stewart, Ga., last week. Its duties in Iraq included escorting military vehicles, guarding prisoners and giving medical aid to civilians.
Hess' family met his bus at the the Army Reserve Center in St. Petersburg, then drove to Tarpon Springs, where they were met by two police cruisers.
Shortly after 7 p.m., Hess, wearing his army fatigues, pulled onto his neighborhood street.
Kids waved their flags. Parents clapped and whistled. Friends smiled.
Their hero was finally home.
Hess acknowledged the crowd but looked surprised.
Later, he said he had no idea his welcome home had become a community event.
"I didn't know about any of this," Hess said, in between hugs from good friends and complete strangers. "It's overwhelming."
Thirteen Girl Scouts from Troop 794 painted the signs.
"This is for everyone who serves our country," said 11-year-old scout Elizabeth Evans.
Earlier in the day, neighbor Carmen Aviles was decorating her yard three doors down from the Hess home with dozens of flags, yellow ribbons, balloons and a sign that said, "Welcome Home Jason. God Bless You."
Aviles said she has five relatives serving in Iraq.
"If it was somebody from my family coming home, I would like them to know that somebody cared," she said.
After his arrival Thursday night, people circled around Hess for more than 20 minutes. They took pictures, swapped handshakes and asked if he's going back.
"I don't want to go anywhere any time soon," he said.
- Times staff writer Tom Zucco contributed to this report.
