After spending a year overseas, two young Starke County men were escorted home by police and members of the fire department, American Legion, and VFW. Ryan Risner and Jonathan Lynch returned to a hero’s welcome as family, friends, and veterans lined up and down U.S. 35 and Main Street in Knox to show their support.
A reception was held at the Knox VFW for the returning soldiers, and friends and family packed into the building to shake hands, hug, and congratulate the pair.
Lynch said it felt great to be home after the long hours and longer days, and he’s just ready to spend time with family and close friends. After working that hard in Afghanistan, he said he’s looking forward to having some downtime, and while he’s not sure if he’ll go back overseas anytime soon, anything’s possible.
Risner said it was great to be overseas and get a glimpse of life in a different culture, though the best part of his time overseas was handling recovery missions. He said he liked doing what he does best: recovering and repairing wrecked, stuck, or damaged trucks. It’s great to be home, Risner said, and it’s a surreal feeling to see so many familiar faces again.
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