Lt. Col. David T. May was welcomed to Springfield, tonight, June 29, escorted by police and ambulance with sirens blaring, and a motorcycle escort from Warriors Watch that kept traffic clear from Philadelphia International Airport down I-95 to the Blue Route to his home on Lewis Road.
May, who serves in the Special Forces with the Army Reserves, was returning from his third tour in Afghanistan.
May’s street was decorated with American flags placed curbside starting at Thompson Avenue by neighbors who had been informed of his homecoming as part of a celebration organized by Alan Shooster and Rick Megaro. On his front yard were dozens of them, some of whom had prepared a barbecue of hot dogs and soda and beer along with other treats. It should be noted that May missed his first flight and his arrival came at nearly 9 p.m. The delay didn’t seem to affect the crowd.
Members of Heroes’ Welcome held signs and carried flags and applauded.
The greeting was a complete surprise to the Colonel. May spent nine months in Afghanistan this time according to his wife Denise, who along with daughter Katy greeted him at the airport.
She said she will shoot him in the foot if he is ordered back.
Among the greeters was Ruby, the puppy he and Denise adopted while he was on leave. Ruby was a replacement for Trooper, the blind yellow Labrador retriever the Mays adopted 10 years ago, said Robin Shooster. Trooper died while May was overseas.
Thank you for your service Colonel. Welcome home.