It cost more than $200,000, but the memories are priceless. People all over the state donated money to Operation Home for the Holidays, so Connecticut National Guardsmen could come home to their families this holiday season.
We met up with the Tuttle family of Lebanon on one of their last few days all together. Oldest son, 25-year-old Sgt. Robert Tuttle will soon be on his way, eventually deploying to Afghanistan. His younger brother, 21-year-old Josh, couldn't bear to see him leave, so he decided he'd go with, "I just didn't want him to deploy a second time without me being there."
Their father Jay says when they leave on January 2nd, it'll be tough to say goodbye, "It's hard cause we miss them you know, obviously we want to have them home as soon as possible they have a job to do and we understand that."
The Governor's Home for the Holidays program brought them together for Christmas and New Year's, but for the Tuttle's, the celebration didn't stop there. Robert married his fiancé Jess. She just joined the National Guard.
At 18 years old, Robert and Josh's youngest sister Nicole did too. While it's incredibly challenging for those that go, Robert says sometimes it's tougher for those they leave behind, "Leaving my son, definitely the toughest thing, that's for any parent though, leaving their kids behind. It's definitely tough on you."
