Marine, paralyzed by sniper, returns home

[unhappycamper]

Former Marine Cpl. Joshua Hoffman, 26, followed by his fiancee, Heather Lovell, is wheeled along a red carpet and welcomed by 150 Marines, family members and friends after being transported by jet to the Amway corporate hangar in Grand Rapids, Mich., on March 25.


Marine, paralyzed by sniper, returns home
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Mar 27, 2008 7:35:44 EDT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Hundreds of people turned out for an emotional gathering to welcome home a former Marine paralyzed by a sniper’s bullet in Iraq.

A gurney was used Tuesday in a hangar at Gerald R. Ford International Airport to wheel Joshua Hoffman, 26, through a sea of U.S. flags and cheering well-wishers. They included dozens of Marines in dress blues from his home unit, Grand Rapids-based Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment.

“To me, it meant the world, everyone showing up here,” his brother, Jacob Hoffman, 24, of Wayland, told The Grand Rapids Press. “All these people came to support my brother. To me, it means they care. To me, it’s bigger than any gift you can give.”

It was a bittersweet homecoming for Joshua Hoffman, who was paralyzed from his chest down after being shot on Jan. 6, 2007. He had been in a Veterans Administration hospital in Virginia since February of last year, and was a corporal when he received a medical discharge from the Marines in September.

Hoffman, who grew up in the Wayland area, joined the Marine Reserve in 2002 hoping to earn money for college. He was sent with the company to Iraq’s Anbar province in October 2006, then was transferred to the battalion’s Ohio-based Weapons Company for duty in Fallujah.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_paralyzedmarine_032608/

[zanne]

1. Her fiancee will receive 24-hour nursing care for now.

For "now"? What is going to happen to this young guy? I don't mean to sound harsh, but I doubt that the wedding will ever happen. What happens when all the cheering stops?

[rwork]

2. As bush* so shallowly said

the freedom we are bringing "Will Merit the Sacrifice"