Monday, April 30, 2007

American Soldier Returns Home To A Hero's Welcome

Nearly two years after losing part of his leg in Iraq, a Minnesota National Guard soldier is back home. Tony Larson, 25, arrived in Saint Cloud to hundreds of people cheering him on. In October 2005, he was struck down by an improvised explosive device. Last fall, Larson met Nicole Kline, while he recovered from having part of his right leg amputated at Washington D.C.'s Walter Reed Army Medical Center.They've become inseparable, and she organized Larson's homecoming at the airport. Anderson Trucking, a local company, provided the free plane ride home. Larson's grandmother, Martha Larson, was able to come. All five of her sons served in the the U.S. military. As for Larson, he is just grateful for all the hometown attention. Amputated leg or not, he will be learn to become a massage therapist, he says.