Thu Mar 1, 2012.
People in Morrisville will welcome a hometown hero back from Afghanistan on Saturday.
Family members and community groups are asking the Morrisville community to stand curbside at about 1:15 p.m. Saturday to show their support for Marine Sgt. Travis Bush, 24.
They ask people to stand along West Bridge Street from the Squirrel's Nest Café to South Harding Avenue; and on South Harding down to Woodland Avenue, where Bush's family lives.
Organizers urge people to bring their own American flags and welcome back signs. A limited supply of American flags will be distributed along the route, organizers said.
Bush's mother, Stacey Toman, said the Marine had been deployed in Afghanistan for seven months. He returned to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in Beaufort, S.C., last week.
Bush will be escorted to Morrisville by the Warriors' Watch Riders and Philadelphia police. On Bridge Street near Snipes Farm, Morrisville police and the Morrisville Fire Co. will join in and escort Bush to his Woodland Avenue home.
His motorcade is expected in Morrisville sometime between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday.
Family members and community groups are asking the Morrisville community to stand curbside at about 1:15 p.m. Saturday to show their support for Marine Sgt. Travis Bush, 24.
Organizers urge people to bring their own American flags and welcome back signs. A limited supply of American flags will be distributed along the route, organizers said.
Bush's mother, Stacey Toman, said the Marine had been deployed in Afghanistan for seven months. He returned to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in Beaufort, S.C., last week.
Bush will be escorted to Morrisville by the Warriors' Watch Riders and Philadelphia police. On Bridge Street near Snipes Farm, Morrisville police and the Morrisville Fire Co. will join in and escort Bush to his Woodland Avenue home.
His motorcade is expected in Morrisville sometime between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday.
3 comments:
This is such a great event! I hope lots of people show up for his homecoming. I attended my first homecoming months back and it was an amazing site to see people cheering and the motorcycles with other Vets leading the way into town. a Wonderful thing. Welcome home! Welcome home and Thank you for your service.
I'll echo Wanda's comment. It is an amazing, emotional thing to attend. Bring the kids too.
Wish I could be there today.
A big homecoming for borough Marine
Posted: Sunday, March 4, 2012 6:00 am | Updated: 6:30 am, Sun Mar 4, 2012.
By James McGinnis Staff writer | 0 comments
Marine Sgt. Travis Bush of Morrisville thought he was returning home from Afghanistan to a simple barbecue in the backyard.
His mom left out the part about inviting the entire town to the barbecue.
After seven months at Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan, the 24-year-old rolled into Bucks County on Saturday with what looked like a presidential or royal escort.
Local firefighters and police linked up with the Warriors’ Watch Riders as the Marine’s red, late- model pickup truck rode northbound along Route 1.
Waving flags, hundreds of borough residents lined Bridgetown Pike and Harding and Woodland avenues for the homecoming. Linda Krause of Morrisville held high the stars and stripes. Another flag was wrapped tight around her dog Webster. “My labradoodle supports the troops too,” Krause said.
Standing on the front lawn, Bush’s mom, Stacey Toman paced nervously, listening as the blaring of police sirens signaled her son’s return home. They were separated seven months, she said. Her arms wrapped tight around him before Bush even had a chance to close the truck door.
Brief ceremonies were held outside the family home on a small residential street. Family and friends crowded the roadway. Morrisville Mayor Rita Ledger read a borough proclamation to celebrate “the promise of a family restored.”
Herbert Brookes, chaplain of the Fairless Hills Elks Lodge, spoke of his time in the Royal Air Force during World War II and, quoting the former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, said “never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
“I take my hat off to you,” said Brookes, “Without men and women like yourself, we could not be standing here today.”
The Marine said he was overwhelmed by all the attention. “This is absolutely amazing for a homecoming,” Bush said. “I have never seen anything like this done for anybody.”
The Marine thanked God for allowing him to return to the United States following a near fatal incident in the Helmand Province.
“It was probably about 5:30 p.m. in the afternoon and I was heading home,” he said. “All we heard was a siren going off, and we all thought it was just a drill. Then, I heard the wheezing of the bomb and finally it hitting the ground right near me. It was only by the grace of God that it did not go off.”
Bush’s family has a history of civil and military service. His sister Kim McGrath is a paramedic and his brother, Christopher Toman, works as a police officer in Philadelphia.
Travis’ other brother, Kevin Bush is currently serving with the Navy and stationed in Guam. Kevin Bush is not expected to return home for another two years, Stacey Toman said. “Thank God for cell phones, texting and email,” she added.
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