As I drove by Exit 7 on the Maine Turnpike, I could
see all the people. I could see the fire truck, police cruiser, welcome
home signs and Valorie Swiger’s big red hair. It made me feel good to
see the show of support for a young soldier who was on his way home. I
could only image how Jason Swiger would feel when he saw his family and
friends for the first time in about a year.

    Fighting a war in Iraq can’t be easy. He told his
mother that his second tour in the war zone has been more difficult.

    “We’ve been shot at every day,” Swiger wrote in a letter to his mother.

    Felluja is a tough place. Insurgents are targeting and mutilating coalition forces.

    Jason Swiger said in another letter that he fired his gun once. He’s still not sure if he hit the enemy.

    Swiger returned last weekend to a hero’s welcome.

    A long, white stretch limousine awaited the soldier’s arrival.

    Valorie Swiger had planned a huge welcoming event.
She called the local TV stations. Camera crews were summoned to the
parking lot to capture the emotional homecoming.

    Luckily for cell phones, we were able to track Swiger’s 18-hour journey home.

    “He’s stuck in New York traffic,” Valorie said as
she notified the welcoming committee and the media earlier in the day.

    Swiger’s 4 p.m. arrival had been pushed back an
hour. Swiger would eventually pull into the Exit 7 parking lot at 6
p.m., too late to make the evening news.

    “He’s in the Kennebunk area,” Swiger notified the crowd. “He’ll be here in 20 minutes.”

    The excitement grew.

    Jason’s little brother, Charlie, 11, waved an
American flag. Two of his sisters Rebecka, 24 and Andie-Lynne, 16, held
signs that said; “Welcome home Jason” and “Thank You Jason.”

    Patriotism was in the air.

    Several military veterans turned out to meet a fellow soldier.

    Mike Green, 71, of the VFW Post 832 said there was
no one there to greet him when he returned from the Korean War in 1953.

    He reflected back to Mrs. Swiger’s “Yellow Ribbon” campaign.

    She has been fighting with city officials to allow
the posting of her hand-made yellow ribbons on city owned property for
more than a year. The city said the display of ribbons on public
property is against city ordinances.

    Veteran Mike Green took exception with the city leaders for their stance on the yellow ribbons.

    “I think it’s a good thing,” he said. “The yellow ribbons, they made such a big fuss.”

    As Jason Swiger’s red car pulled into the parking
lot, you could tell be was beaming by all of the support. The limo, the
fire truck and the police cruiser that would give him a hero’s escort
through his hometown. Businesses and churches posted welcome home signs
all up and down Broadway.

    I felt proud when I saw those signs. I could only
imagine how Jason Swiger would feel after spending a year away from
home and in a war zone.

    Asked about what he thought as he drove up to the
ruckus at Exit 7, Swiger said, “I knew my mother was up to something.”

    Swiger was happy to see family and friends, relieved
that he made it home alive and I’m sure thinking about what lies ahead.

    “Chances are we’ll go back for a third tour,” he said.

    I felt another sense of pride covering this story
when Swiger said, “My heart’s the size of my car tire right now, it’s
pretty huge.”

    What a comment from a young kid whose fighting for our freedoms.

    We should be proud that there are plenty of Jason Swiger’s out there.