Three South Shore families with loved ones serving in the Massachusetts National Guard agreed to let Patriot Ledger readers follow their lives at home while those loved ones serve in Iraq. This is part of an occasional series on those families as they live, cope, love and wait.

By ADVA SALDINGER
GateHouse News Service

HUDSON

Solveig Sheehan stood on her tiptoes to scan the faces of 188 soldiers as they came off of four buses at the Elks Lodge.

The moment she saw her husband, 1st Sgt. Richard Sheehan, she took off running and jumped into his arms. The Weymouth couple kissed and hugged each other, and wiped away tears.

“Time just stood still for me,” Solveig Sheehan said of the first minutes of her reunion with her husband after his year-long deployment. “Finally my other half is back and I’m complete again. It’s a relief.”

During his 21 years in the Guard, Sheehan has been deployed to active duty twice before – in Cuba and Bosnia – but the tour of duty in Iraq was different, he said.

“This one’s special because of the dangers that were there on a daily basis,” Sheehan said. “We’ve been blessed. We’ve had good soldiers and good leadership and we got everyone home.”

Delta Company, 1st Battalion of the 181st Infantry Regiment of the Massachusetts National Guard returned home from the war Saturday. It suffered no casualties or serious injuries despite being charged with a dangerous job: Protecting high-ranking officials in Baghdad, including U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and United Nations personnel.

Unit commander Capt. Stephen Rooney, 39, of Nashua, N.H., said the group performed more than 1,000 protective details in 10 months in Iraq and came under all manner of hostile fire.

“We were in the roads, on the rooftops, in marketplaces, on street corners ... you name it, and we did not take a single casualty,” he said. “That’s a testament, first and foremost, to the soldiers.”

It was the largest Massachusetts deployment to Iraq to date.

“It was the constant, realistic training conducted throughout the deployment, the equipment … professionalism and an undetermined amount of luck that got us through,” Rooney said.

Sheehan was visibly relieved that everyone came home safely.

“I’ve got 188 (people) that I worry about every day,” he said. “It’s good to see them all with their families. They all earned it – every one of them.”

Sheehan’s immediate plans include relaxing and cutting the grass, he said.

“I will get re-acclimated and get to know my wife and my family and again catch up on all the things I’ve missed,” he said.

Spc. Sarah O’Hearn of Marshfield also arrived back in Massachusetts Saturday after a year-long deployment with the 772nd Military Police Company attached to Delta Company. She will spend her first few days resting but already has big plans, including a trip to Spain, college applications and getting a new car.

O’Hearn was greeted by her mother, Marilyn O’Hearn, and her sister, Melissa O’Hearn, as she got off the bus.

Despite being exhausted after having been awake for more than 24 hours the crowd of people that gathered in the parking lot was an exciting sight, O’Hearn said.

“It was a great experience, but I’m glad that it’s over and I’m home with my family,” she said.

Her mother talked of the lasagne dinner that would be her daughter’s first meal home.

“It’s been pretty difficult,” said Marilyn O’Hearn. “It’s a big relief and it’s very exciting to have her come home.”

Sgt. Matthew Menz of Quincy, a medic with Delta Company was greeted by a large welcoming party. While some soldiers were nervous or anxious about stepping off the buses, he jumped out, he said.

Menz’s plans for the day on Saturday were simple: Take a nap and have a beer.

Being at home during his leave on Christmas was a bit difficult, he said.

“This time I will have more time off to adjust to life at home,” said Menz, who is a Weymouth firefighter in his civilian life.

Menz said he also plans to get involved with a few organizations that supported him while he was in Iraq.

“There is anxiety inside you don’t know how to control when he’s over there,” his father, Alan Menz, said. “I was emotional when I saw him – to have him come home safe and in one piece…”

The Menz family went home to Quincy in style in a 1958 Cadillac limousine, borrowed from a World War II veteran who is a family friend.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.