A true American hero! Welcome home and thank you for serving our country.

Photos in this gallery were taken by Dee Denning.

The following is part of a of a letter written by COnnie Bartlett and sent to family and friends, troop greeters, and legion members.

Sept. 5, 2007 - Wednesday morning as we headed home from Portland with Ben, the Maine air was so refreshing and inviting. If only I could have enjoyed it more! Ben and Katie were cold, so up went the windows and out stayed the air! Ben is used to Iraq desert heat, and Katie has spent the summer in N Dakota in hotter weather so Mama had to hold tight in her anticipation of the next fresh breath of cool air! :> :>

On the way home we started to get a bit suspicious about some phone calls Dave was getting. It sounded like something was up and the rest of us weren't in on the loop that he was. Long story short, from the exit in Orono off the interstate to the Mobile down the road from our house (maybe 5-6 miles?) in Milford we had a police escort (4-5 vehicles) in honor of our (and I say 'our' in a very broad sense) wounded Marine. Dave grinned, Ben was sort of embarrassed, I cried, and we all knew this was going to be a forever-memory.

We made quite a scene for those few miles, and I guess we were all just a little embarrassed since miles of cars pulled over to the side of the road in response to the escort because the police cars not only had their lights flashing but their sirens blaring too. At the appointed destination there was a crowd gathered to welcome us home. One friend started the ball rolling on this just the night before, I believe, and it ended with a welcoming committee of many friends, area Marines, and Maine Troop Greeters. I cried some more, people took pictures, Ben was thanked over and over for his part in keeping our country free; everyone was so kind and gracious. Pictures taken are posted on http://www.mainetroopgreeters.com .

Though Ben was embarrassed at all the attention, I believe this was something he will always cherish, in reality. I know WE will. He doesn't feel he DID ANYTHING to deserve the thanks that he hears over and over, and I understand that. Yet, our United States history would be vastly different if EACH of those individuals who have put their lives on the line for freedom down through the years had made a different decision than they did. So to ALL OF YOU who have sacrificially given of your lives to keep our country free, WE THANK YOU!!!

A special United States flag was waiting for us here at home when we got here. It was accompanied by a certificate to 'Dave and Constance Bartlett'. It says, 'This flag was flown on Camp Fallujah in your honor, for your sacrifice while caring for one our our wounded warriors'. Of course, I cried again. :<

Sept. 10 is when the process of building extra living space out into our garage area begins. When Ben moved out of his old bedroom in 2006 to go to Marine boot camp, that allowed our Luke to move down from the attic and have his own little bedroom. There just aren't spares around here. So for the moment, Ben is bedded down in our little glassed-in sun porch until we have another room built for him. We had been going to build a laundry room (now part of my kitchen) in this same area anyway, so this has just sped up some plans and added a bit more complexity to it. Family, friends, and church family have humbled and amazed us with funds and hands-on help that will make this room materialize for Ben (and for us) in record time, it appears. We haven't quite figured out how to respond to all the generosity and love properly.

For now with many thanx for your part in our special return to Maine,
Connie Bartlett for the whole Bartlett clan