Soldier Crippled In Blast Returns For Holidays

[livvy]

By Charmaine Smith-Miles - Anderson Independent-Mail via AP
Posted : Sunday Dec 28, 2008 10:58:55 EST

ANDERSON, S.C. — As Charlie Pannell and his wife, Bethany, pulled into his mother’s driveway, he saw something he was not expecting to see: roughly 40 people standing on his mom’s front lawn and cheering for him as he pulled into view.

An American flag graced the driveway, and another one was flying from the front porch, waving him in. Green garland, dotted with red bows, decorated the 100-foot long wheelchair ramp leading to the front door.

There was a resounding round of applause and plenty of people reaching to shake the Army staff sergeant’s hands.

“I knew that some of my friends and family would be here,” Pannell said. “But I had no idea that my homecoming would be anything like this. It meant a lot seeing all those people standing out there in the cold.”

It wasn’t that long ago that Pannell, 27, didn’t even know if he would be able to come home to see his family for the holidays. That’s because he went through his most recent surgery about two weeks ago, his lungs collapsed and he developed an infection.

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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_injured_soldier_122808/