Hero's welcome

April 26, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

FORT RICHARDSON - The sight of snow-covered mountains was enough to cause Valley resident Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Palmer to choke up as he flew back to Alaska after spending a year building roads, helicopter pads and other construction projects in the desert just outside Baghdad.

Palmer returned to Alaska on April 12, along with other members of the Army's 411th Engineer Battalion. Aside from a two-week visit in October, the soldiers had been away from their families and loved ones since January 2004, a total of 15 months.

"I'm as high as a kite," Palmer said.

Palmer's fellow soldier, Sgt. 1st Class William Leider, said he just enjoys being able to go on a walk without wearing heavily armored suits in blazing temperatures.

"When you go outside in Baghdad, you have to have yourself all armored up," Leider said. "Here, you can go wherever you want. You can talk to people. They're friendly, they speak English. It's so much better to be home where it's normal."

This past Sunday, Palmer and Leider joined approximately 25 fellow soldiers at Fort Richardson for a ceremony honoring the battalion's service and recognizing those whose tour of duty was exceptional. Family members also received honors for supporting the troops and each other while the battalion was away.

After a year and three months without her husband, Nikki Palmer said she was relieved to finally have him home again.

"I was so worried that something would happen to him," she said. "I didn't realize how much subliminal stress you have. Now that he's here, I feel a lot more light-hearted. It's a big weight off."

Nikki was part of a family support group whose members encouraged one another while the troops were at war. The group held monthly meetings, sent care packages to the troops and raised money for special celebrations for when the soldiers returned.

On Sunday, many of the family members received pins and certificates for the support they provided one another and the troops.

During the year the unit was stationed in Iraq, family members kept in contact through letters, e-mails and phone conversations. Nikki said the quality of the long-distance communication was pretty good, considering mail and phone calls had to reach a heavy combat zone. Long-distance phone calls and a few e-mails, however, were nothing like having Matthew around the house.

"It was a tough winter to have to shovel snow," she said. "He didn't even get back in time to shovel any this year."

Matthew said he's just looking forward to relaxing a little and visiting with his family and friends from the battalion.

"I'm ecstatic to be back," he said.

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266, or joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.