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Community Corner

A Soldier Comes Home

A Mansfield resident returns from Afghanistan after 11 months.

December 15 is a date 11-year-old Owen Greene will not soon forget.

His father, Major Michael (Mike) Greene surprised him at school after returning from an 11-month stint in Afghanistan. 

Mike is stationed full-time with the National Guard. He is the executive officer and second in command of  his unit and coordinates all the administrative actions for the unit.

Because his return from Afghanistan was scheduled for late at night, Mike and his wife Kate decided he would stay in a hotel and put off his homecoming until the next day.

"When we got in from Indiana we took buses to the armories and a lot of the families were there to meet their soldiers and bring them home but because it was at 11 o'clock at night we decided to let the kids not be there for it," Mike explained.

As any parents would be, Mike and Kate were more concerned with their sons getting enough rest for school the next day, where Mike planned on surprising them.

The was the first stop on Mike's surprise trip. The school allowed him to go right to his son Owen's classroom, where it just so happened that the class was in the middle of a test. Not only was Owen thrilled to see his dad after 11 months, but he was also happy to have his test interrupted.

"Something surprising during something boring," he said of his fathers visit.

Next, Greene went over to Sto surprise his son Liam. All of the students were lead into the gym where Liam's class stood in the middle and played Simon Says until Mike came in and surprised him.

Mike's unit has returned  from their deployment and he will not return for a least two years. They are years he will gratefully enjoy spending with his family.

"I'm just glad to be back with my family for the holidays," Mike said. "I get to be with the kids again and be with my wife and get back to a normal life."

Owen is very excited to have his father back home. They missed out on nearly one of everything in the 11 months Mike has been gone, including an entire season of baseball. Owen is most looking forward to watching the Red Sox with his father, even though Mike is a Yankees fan. Despite the rivalry in the family, next season will be a great one.



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