More than 100 Connecticut National Guard soldiers will tell you there’s nothing better than spending the holidays at home. Thanks to some generous donations they get to do just that this year.
Members of the 250th Engineer Company arrived at Camp Rell Tuesday night just in time for Christmas. They made the 21 hour drive from Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. The homecoming was emotional and heartwarming.
“Just to know I get to be home when the kids come downstairs on Christmas morning is so amazing,” said Capt. Chuck Taylor of Hamden.
The homecoming was all made possible thanks to Governor Rell’s own military operation called Operation: Home for the Holidays. Her goal was to raise $200,000 to reunite these guys with their loved ones. She not only reached it, but also exceeded it by more than $50,000!
That money paid for buses that picked the soldiers up and brought them back to Connecticut.
“This is very unique and this is something we’ve never done before. We’ve never really had Connecticut National Guard units that mobilized over the holiday season and had a situation where we were able to bring them back home,” said Major Charlie Jaworski.
On Wednesday, more soldiers will return home. More than 500 members of the 1st battalion, 102nd infantry regiment will arrive in Hartford. They are making the trip from Indiana. A similar homecoming is planned.
