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The following letters are from Soldiers, their Families, and other Support Groups and Greeters.
We are pleased and appreciate that you have taken the time to express your comments.
Please invite others to come out and Welcome Home our Hero's.

To whom it may concern,

My name is CPT Ross Hertlein, US Army. I have never really been to Texas or experienced much of the state, however I have to say that I have a strong desire to retire to a state that has the kind of people that
support our military in the way you do. My first experience with DFW was R&R from Iraq in 2007 and recently I had my second experience in 2009 from Afghanistan. The greeting I have gotten each time is amazing. Nowhere else in the country has the reaction to my uniform been so warm and grateful. The people of Texas that are in the airport truly make me proud to serve my country and it makes doing my duty easier knowing we have the support of those at home. I never expected that after 8 years of war that the people would still care about the Soldiers coming home and going back to combat. Obviously you have not forgotten what we are doing and going through. It is not just the people in the USO but all the people in the airport. One generous flight attendant at a desk let me use her personal cell phone to call my wife when I asked her to direct me to a pay phone. The handshakes, cheers, and helpful people of all ages really makes me think that Texas is the kind of place I want to raise my family. I know this is a long letter but I just wanted to say thank you with all my heart and tell you not to stop what you are doing.
You are so appreciated. Thank you and God bless you and the people of Texas.

Sincerely,

CPT Ross M. Hertlein
Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan

My son flew in to DFW for RR from Iraq a few days ago. He graduated from high school a semester early to join the Army, left home two months after his 18th birthday, and just turned 21 in Iraq on November 9th. He told us how the greeting you and others gave him at the airport meant so much to him. He especially talked about the fire trucks blowing water all around the plane and the rows of people waving flags. I want to thank you and others for your efforts at welcoming our troops home. It means so much to the soldiers AND their families.

Following the tragic shootings at Ft. Hood, it was healing to me to see such support and appreciation.
Thank you,

Alice Bartschi
Salt Lake City, UT

Joe!!
Thank you so much!! These pictures keep him close to my heart it means alot thank you for what you do. =)

Stevie Cannell
I live, walk, and breathe among the bravest of heros. I am an ARMY Wife Hear me Roar..

Thank you so much for sending these photos and information to us!!! We certainly appreciate your time in both taking these wonderful pictures and forwarding them on with all of the extra information (as well as a big Thank YOU for YOUR time as part of our armed forces!) I know that Christopher and Rafe are excited to share their stories and patches at their Tiger Scout meeting tonight! And I am hopeful we can make it to DFW on the 1st for SPC Limperopoulos' return to Iraq.

Thank you and God Bless!

Beth Downs

Thank you so much for sending the pictures so quickly!

I've taken student groups to the airport about once a six weeks for the past 4 years, so I'm sure I'll see you again.

Have a great week, and thanks for all you do.

Kathryn Laster

Lake Highlands High School

Joe, thank you so much for the wonderful pictures. I have sent them to all the people who wanted to be there but could not.

They will bring many pleasant memories through the years. My wife couldn't make it but she is happy to have the pictures.

Again, THANKS A MILLION.

Gratefully:

Virgil Dennis

WOW!!!!!! That was fast. Thank you so much for finding his pictures. You have no idea how much it means to me and my family. Thank you again.

God Bless you and your family,

Happy holidays,

Wendy Panko

Thanks for sending the photos, they look wonderful.
It is our company's mission to serve the military, active and retired. Our team is always up to the task of taking care of the service members in any way that we can.
Thanks again,

James E. Moore
Senior Vice President
AAFES

Thank you so much....Yes that is my hero in the picture you sent me.How nice of you to do that for me and for all of the other soldier's loved ones.

SSG James R Gilman U S Army 3rd Stryker brigade BN 296th Ft Lewis,Wa

Have a great Veteran's Day.
Tanya Gilman

Joe/Bruce,

I showed the vidoe to the guys on Sunday and I also posted it on a bunch of our state forums. The video was great and so were the videos on your website so I posted them also. I know that everyone will enjoy watching them. I gave Ras a copy on Sunday afternoon.

I may try and make the troop flight on Veterans day but I might not be able to because I have a DR appointment in the morning. I will definitely be at the airport on Sunday.

I am still working on my video and if I get it done I will bring you a copy.

Take care,

David Barron

Dear Joe:

Oh my goodness, what a sight for sore eyes this is! Yes, you have the correct person. The gentleman escorting him is Chuck's Uncle Allen Clark, USMA Class of 1963 and a Vietnam War Hero himself! Thank you for attaching the pictures. The past few days have been so tough on the Fort Hood Community. All I have wanted to do is embrace our "hero", this is a nice way of doing so.

I hope you all received the books that the kids and I donated. We just loved the DVD of Daddy reading to us.

Many thanks again for ALL that you do.
Krista Chalfont

Thank you so much. You guys were a blessing to so many and continue to be. It was a privilege to have been able to meet you and sit with you for awhile. I am thoroughly enjoying my family, as you may have guessed, as well as just being back in a great country like ours. I do hope to see you all again upon my return to Dallas!

Blessings!
MAJ Chris Bassett

Blessings to you, Donna and Bert, and all you dear folks who stand together in greeting our soldiers. You do a marvelous job and you are to be highly commended for your excellent work. You are the true American heroes!!!

I can only imagine the marvelous sense of joy, dignity, honor and respect you bring to our soldiers as they return home and see you there at the airport waiting for them. This is literally a slice of heaven for them because I believe in heaven that honor-giving is a way of life. And honor-giving is its own best reward as the LORD smiles on the selfless kindness you show to our troops.

All the Best to you,
David Pautsch

Joe, Yes that is my Hero!! Thank you very much! We are very grateful for everything you do to welcome our Heros home. Having the support from people like you and every one else there at DFW airport made our Hero

feel very proud to be coming home to this great country. Hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Rose Vargas

Thank you so much!! This is my husband! thank you so much for all the support and for providing families like myself with such wonderful photos.

God Bless,

Edna Lomeli

Proud Army Wife

I am sitting here with tears of joy rolling down my face. You are awesome! These were pictures of my family members and his beautiful wife. We had hoped to have been able to see the Shower of Affection and were very disappointed that we were not allowed due to security reasons, but you just made that possible with this picture. God is good!

Merry Christmas to you and yours! I sure will tell him. I am sharing these pictures with all my family and sending them to him and his wife also. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Virginia Tijerina
Fort Worth, TX

My daughter was there today and was sent off with such a feeling of appreciation for the sacrifices she has chosen to make for her country. As a mother, a proud mother, I wanted to thank you and all the volunteers for taking the time out of your lives to make her feel special to each of you as she is to her family. I can't tell you how much my heart hurt today sending her off to harm's way but when she told me about the welcome she got and the send off I thought it required for me to do my part and say THANK YOU for helping MY soldier today.
PFC Zepeda Vanessa

Lori Rabago
San Antonio, Tx - 121009

Hi Joe,

I was wondering if you had any photo's from when our Cub Scout Pack 308 group attended to welcome home our troops on Sunday, November 29th. I think you took a picture of our pack in front of the table which held all the goodie bags the boys put together for the troops. You came up to me after everybody had taken their pictures and introduced yourself and gave me your card asking permission to post their picture on your website (which I verbally agreed to).

I also wanted to mention that I have really enjoyed looking at your pictures of our soldiers and other organizations that have come in the past to support our troops. The letters also warmed my heart as it

really puts into perspective how much just this small effort on our part can really mean to them.

This is the second year in a row our pack has come out to support our troops and I can tell you that it's very much going to be an annual event we will feel honored to continue participating in!

God Bless you for your wonderful work!

Lupe Croniser

Pack 308 Event Coordinator - Allen, TX

What a wonderful surprise to open your e-mail and see our son! Thank you so much, I know you will be blessed for your efforts. I can't imagine how you keep up with all of this.

Zach's humvee was hit with a anti-tank grenade on his door on 4/21/07. After 5 hospitals and 6 month recovery, praise the Lord, he was up and running again. This picture is his 2nd tour, what a brave man to go back again, we are so proud of him and I will certainly pass on your appreciation. Zach's life was saved because they had uparmored the doors two months previously, I am so grateful to God for sparing his life. I know that there is more work and a purpose for him on this earth.

Thank you for your purpose! You certainly warmed my heart today.

Jeannie Ferrell

Tis the season to be very busy. I am just soooo thankful that there are people like you who are there when our soldiers come in and family cannot always be there! We received a phone call 12 hours prior to his arrival that he was coming home. He actually beat us to the Kansas City Airport by 10 minutes. The Dallas staff got him on a flight several hours earlier than anticipated which was wonderful. He said the arrival ceremony was awesome. He gave me the postcard of the firetrucks greeting the plane to put in his military scrapbook! Anyway.....my son is PFC Justin Rackers with United States Army. He is short lil guy; all of 5'2''. There was no family there to greet him so he was a loner that day. Even if you missed him, I must thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there! I will keep checking the site for updates.

Jeri Ann Rackers
Proud Parent of US Army Soldier

It was quite a shock coming around the corner in DFW to see a few hundred people waiting to greet us.

girl scouts, boy scouts, cheerleaders, veterans, blue star mothers, people handing out candy, shaking hands, clapping, it was overwhelming.

I had spent 9 months in country at that point, and this was really my first encounter with the civilized world again. This service is amazing. I was overcome with the generosity, appreciation and support from everyone there. They didn't have to be there, they were there because they wanted to come thank us. It really meant alot to me.

In the excitement, a man handed me a small slip of paper with a website on it and told me the pictures from the event would be later posted online. I lost the little slip. I've had trouble tracking down the pictures. I found a website that had a large collection from 2006, and then this site welcomehomeahero.com. but the newest pictures are from early october.

I appreciate your help and for everything you guys have done in welcoming home soldiers. It really means alot to us. it was unexpected and meant alot.

Thank you,
PFC Hamblin

Good morning,

My husband is the one Coastie that flew into the Dallas Airport this morning with the Army and he said this was the most heart felt feeling he has ever had in his life. He called me crying, not being able to wait till he can get home.

Thank you again for your support!

Shannon Canady

MKC Canady’s wife USCG - 122809

Hi Joe,

The pictures are of our son. Thank you so much. My sister and brother live in Dallas and were able to meet him at the airport. They were so impressed with the welcome our troops are given as are we. It is so nice to see the photos as they walk out on US soil for the first time in 6 months. It's so amazing that you are able to capture these young men and women--heros. Thanks again.

Cindy and Jim Roudebush

Hi Joe,

     Cannot tell you what a rich and (no words to express) experience it was to meet you and see off our war heroes. I will never forget it!

      Thank you for your dedication to the effort. You, Bert, Randy - and all of you who uphold the dignity of this great moment for the soldiers made Sunday's experience just so incredible!

      Tim needs no convincing of my feelings - as the one who made it happen for his IBM team and me! :)

       Randy           Tim           Joe                   Bert

with sincerst thanks! PS the quotes below as signature on my emails so surely apply to what you and Bert, Randy and all the Vets do to make a difference to these (oh so young!) soldiers

Leslie Healy

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

"We cannot do great things on this earth; we can only do small things with great love."
Mother Theresa

Joe, That is him! Thank you for sending it.

He told us about the reception received in Dallas upon arrival (he traveled on to Houston) and was very humbled. He said he felt undeserving of so much praise and thanks because so many more soldiers are more in "harm's way" than he is but I told him it's all about the big picture!!

Thank you for providing the picture - I have forwarded to all of our relatives!

Respectfully,

Becky Beverly

Joe,

OH MY! I cannot thank you enough. YES! You captured my boy. I can't believe it. I'm SO glad I emailed you. I LOVE the pics of the plane with the water arch too. My husband is going to be so excited to see these too.

I'm all filled up now. Thanks and have a GREAT weekend!!! Thanks for what you are doing in welcoming our soldiers onto American soil!!! J

Karen & Jim Green

Hello MR. Schneider,

Sir, I do want to thank you for the thoughtfulness that you are giving to the returning troops. As an Airforce veteran you understand what deployment means. As you know It means a lot to see all of the welcoming family members and US Citizens and for you to document it, well that is very special. Most of us are so busy trying to locate loved ones and are just overwhelmed in general, that a lot just goes by. Your great photographs will keep the memories alive for ever.

You hit the nail on the head with my photo. Yes, I am Photo 167C Airborne. I see what you mean about the name tags, very difficult! I will be back through DFW in a few months and I will try to thank you in person. I know you must have expenses, so if I can help in any way please let me know and again thank you for what you are doing to preserve a very special moment for us and for our country.

Sincerely,

SGT. John Tucker

82 Airborne, Ft Bragg

Dear Joe,

Thank you for the wonderful deeds you do for so many soldiers and their families. I hope you never tire of reading these words. Our son went through Dallas on his mid-way leave, returning from Afghanistan. It was so great to see the expression of gratitude our son felt at being welcomed home. It bothered us immensely to not be able to be there personally to greet him. But from what we saw and heard from Brad, his family was there. His American family, and we can't thank those terrific people enough for the service they so selflessly do.

I would like to make a donation to help with the costs incurred in the processing of the photos and maintenace of this website. How might I go about doing this? The donation will be modest, but it's what I can do to help.

With deep gratitude,

Brenda Forsythe

Mr Quernemoen,

This is 1LT Rodney J. Abercrombie. We have received the video and definately appreciate it. I also want to say, thank you once again....for all of the support that you and all from Dallas game myself, my family, and all the other soldiers. It means very very much to us. Many of the soldiers unfortunately are in a big hurry understandably, to get to the next terminal for their continuance trip home. I was in that position during my R&R last June....this time, I was home to stay....having finished my deployment. Last June, I wished I had slowed down to be able to say Thank you.....This time, I was able to move more slowly and say thank you....If you can please give my thanks to all of the others that you speak to at Dallas....it would be very much appreciated. Thank you once again.

Mr Schneider sir,

1st of all, thank you so much for your service to your country and the heart that you have for our military! I can tell the passion you have for them is not all that common. (getting better though I might add!)

As you know from my wife and the pictures you took of my son that what you are doing is priceless! I wish I lived somewhat close to DFW so that I could spend some time with you and be among the welcoming committee there. I still have tears and chills just from watching the video and the pictures of our son arriving. One of the things that he said when he arrived and was part of that was that he was so overwhelmed.

Thank you again for what you are doing and I/we will keep you in our prayers and hopefully meet up with you someday and thank you personally.

God Bless You!

Jim Green II (Army MP '78-'81)

Joe,

Thank you , and everyone one of the great Americans present on 9 Jan 10 to welcome us back home.
You all redefined to me what this war is all about; our way of life, our Freedom, our liberty. Thank You!
I am still unable to entertain the images and thoughts without tears!! I honor all of you .

Keep it up

CSM Glenn S. Bowens
Dothan, AL

Oh My Goodness!!! You made my night. He left yesterday to go back to Iraq... what a treat to get to see a pic of him.. I appreciate you being there from the bottom of my heart. What a patriot you are. Thank you and God bless.

Melany Loftin

Thank you so much, Mr. Schneider (and you too, Cat). Those pictures are wonderful! I really appreciate you being there to take them on Sunday morning. I'm a HUGE picture person and still have all my high school scrap books and albums to proove it (smile). The pictures you took will provide a lifetime of lasting memories for me, my son and all our family and friends. Thank you, again.

TSgt Kevin Johnson

Thank you so much! that was the correct pictures! I would like to thank you all for being there to welcome home our soldiers. you have no idea how much it means to our soldiers as well as us, the family waiting on him to arrive home! thanks again for everything that you do!

Christie Nuckols

Thank you so VERY much. The photo made us laugh and feel so happy! Thank you for being there to meet my son.......oh there just aren't words to tell you what this photo means!

I have already made it my wallpaper so I can see him every day!

Thank you so much!

Debra Lafon
Proud Parent of an American Soldier

Oh my goodness! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We are so thrilled to have these pictures! I would rather have a picture than a hundred dollar bill on a normal day and these are priceless! I can't wait to show all of our family!! Thank you for this treasure! It has been such a blessing to have him home if only for a few short weeks and God has answered our prayers on keeping him safe so far and we trust He will continue to do so.
Thank you so much!

Julie Goodson

Dear Joe,

Thank you for responding to my photo request. Yes, those are my heros pictures. Again Thank You so much for the wonderful work that you do to make our military men and women feel appreciated. God Bless You!!!!!

Patricia Kuhlmeier

Bert,
My pastor ended his sermons yesterday with the picture of the dad and son hugging.

His message was on how much our Heavenly Father loves us and keeps watching and waiting for us. He shared about the troops @ DFW and the great work all the folks do each day welcoming home our heros.

There wasn't a dry eye anywhere in the sanctuary. What a blessing you, Joe, Chuck, Donna, Max and all the rest are to so many people!

See you soon,
Ben

I just wanted to send a big thank you and hug your way! I found my sons picture on your website , after receiving a card from him. I was so excited to be able to get a chance to see him arriving at airport, and to see the amazing support that was given to not only my son, but to all soldiers coming into Dallas! Just amazing! I just wanted to cry....I was so filled with joy ...knowing if I couldn't be there, someone was. Thank you and all the others who support our troops!

Thank you,
Debbie/ mom of soldier

Dear Bruce!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! WE LOVE THE VIDEO!! Words can't express how much we appreciate you...your wonderful, precious spirit. It was our very first time to come and greet the soldiers...Max was deployed in January and we haven't seen him in six months. Saturday morning ended months of fear for my beautiful son's safety; just seeing his sweet face was answered prayer. We didn't realize, or even know the video could be available for us and you stepped right in there, made the video and mailed it to us...the sweetest gift I could ever have been given. It was so generous and selfless, so thoughtful. My heart is just thrilled to pieces. I've remembered you many times in my prayers...hoping that you'll be as blessed in making and sharing the videos for soldiers and their families...as we were in receiving it!

With love and thanks,
vickie and max :)

Joe,

That's my boy!

Thank you again. The picture, and the memory of your kindness is something that I will treasure forever.

Maureen McCauley

To the welcoming crowd at the airport

-Our youngest son is a captain in the Army who is on his second deployment to Iraq. Recently, he called us from Kuwait to tell us he would have a stopover in Dallas the next day on his way to his base in Hawaii for two weeks of R&R.

Between West Point and his active duty service in the Army, we have seen precious little of him for the last nine years. We quickly made arrangements to fly from Florida to Dallas for the opportunity to spend an evening with him.

We were not emotionally prepared for the reception that awaited our son and his fellow soldiers and Marines in Dallas, I estimate 200 people, maybe more, were there to welcome them. This group consisted of Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, veterans, USO personnel and everyday people like us. These people took the time to say :thank you for serving."

I do not have words to properly express the impact of that demonstration of support and affection we witnessed. It particularly touched our son. On behalf of our son and other members of the military, we want to say "thank you" to the wonderful people of Dallas and Texas.

Jan and Rick Long, Orange Park, Fla.

"One thing I'm sure of though is that my time of service has probably already came and gone a long time ago, and at times I feel like I'm just holding on to the idea that I still have something to give, in today's Army. And I find myself chipping away at the original reasons I came back in. But coming in and out of Dallas for R&R, I can’t help think about all those USO volunteers, and Fire Department personnel’s that give us the best welcome home greeting each time a military flight from the Middle East makes port. I don’t know how they do it, but they are always there without fail. I try not to show it as best as I can but the welcome home greetings and cheers means so much after 9 month or however many months we’ve been away from home. It almost seems overwhelming at times. These USO volunteers are WWII veterans, Korean war veterans, Vietnam war veterans, Gulf war veterans, Moms and Dads of military service men and women, school children and teachers, your everyday average hard working Americans. How do they find the time to greet us and cheer for us every time we make port? It’s Amazing to me that they are able to do what they do, with so many flights from the war zones coming home each week. It’s amazing that they would take the time out of there busy schedules and busy lives to greet us and cheers for us the way that they do. They've been doing this for at least 10 years now. So many times I’ve seen the older veterans genuinely moved to tears when they say “Thank you for your service” while shaking our hands as they lineup to greet us just outside the jetway. If they only understood that when I said “thank you” back to each of them, I meant thank you for their service, for their sacrifices, for giving me and my son the freedoms that we take for granted today. They were indeed the greatest generation of Americans I think. And even though I am proud to service in today’s military, I have more respect for those who served my country at a time of war, before me."

SGT Casilum