CONNELLY SPRINGS, N.C.,None — When Cpl. Kyle Houser and fellow Marines arrived in the dangerous Helmand Province of Afghanistan in early July they made an unusual pact.
Knowing their chances were high that some of them would be injured and sent home, those left behind fighting the war were given permission to rummage through any care packages intended for the injured Marines and enjoy the goodies from home.
Houser's Marine buddies are now the benefactors of his packages.
Houser, a 2005 East Burke High School graduate, was injured in a mortar attack Nov. 21 in Afghanistan.
He came home to Connelly Springs on Thursday to a hero's welcome, giving his mom and dad, Rodney and Vicki Houser, his sister, Ashley Annas, his fiancé, Ashley Shelton and his daughter, Jocelyn Houser an early Christmas present.
Two Purple Hearts
A machine gunner for the Marines, Kyle Houser was four months into his second tour of duty when he was injured.
His first tour ended early, too, when he suffered a head wound in 2009 after an IED (improvised explosive devise) attack, for which he received his first Purple Heart.
He earned his second one Nov. 21.
He explained he and other Marines had been in a four-hour battle with the Taliban that day when a mortar round ripped through the left side of his body, leaving shrapnel in his upper thigh and puncturing his left lung.
"The worst part was when I couldn't breathe," Kyle Houser said. "I just didn't want to die in Afghanistan in the dust."
His buddies drug him to safety and started triaging his wounds. It took half an hour for a medical helicopter to reach him.
"That was the longest 30 minutes of my life," he said.
The next day was the longest of his family's life.
His parents received a call Nov. 22 that their son had been injured.
They knew he was critical but stable and had a chest and leg wound, but didn't know how serious his injuries were.
"My heart dropped," Rodney Houser said of hearing the news.
Vicki Houser said, "You don't want to think the worst, and you just try to hold it together until you find out more."
On the afternoon of Nov. 22, Rodney and Vicki Houser heard from their son.
"That made it better," Rodney Houser said, "because we knew he was alive and it wasn't life threatening."
Kyle Houser was first taken to a hospital in Germany and then to one in Virginia.
He arrived back on U.S. soil over the weekend and his parents, fiancé and daughter were able to join him on Monday.
Home for the Holidays
After five or six surgeries and 111 stitches, the Housers were surprised the doctor's released Kyle from the hospital Wednesday night. They made the long drive back to Connelly Springs on Thursday, pulling into the family driveway in the Knob's Landing Road area around 6 p.m.
The Housers didn't know that about 75 family members and friends and neighbors would be waiting for them, lining the driveway, waving flags and pointing to "Welcome Home Kyle" banners.
"I expected a banner," Kyle Houser said later while sitting in his parents' living room," but I didn't expect a posse outside the house."
As loved ones gathered around him, Kyle Houser recounted the story of his attack, including how he was blown backward and temporarily lost his hearing.
He also unbandaged and showed off his wounds and humbly accepted appreciation for his service to and sacrifices for his country.
"You hear about hometown heroes all the time on the news," Diane Eckard said. "And now we have one here."
Kyle Houser's response was, "I don't know about that. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Two other Marines in Kyle Houser's unit were injured bad enough to be medevacced out with him on Nov. 21, but all, including Kyle, are expected to recover. Since he arrived in Afghanistan in July, six from his unit have died.
The Housers are grateful at the recovery Kyle Houser has made.
"I'm just tickled to death to have him home for Christmas," his mom said. "I hate that he's hurt, and I hate that he didn't get to come home with his group, like last time. He'll miss the banners and the welcome ceremony again this time, but I'm thankful my family stepped in to provide that for him tonight (Thursday)."
Kyle Houser, he has long days of physical therapy ahead of him.
His commitment to the Marines is up in October, and he hasn't decided yet if he will stay in the service or not.
For now he is looking forward to spending time with his family, enjoying Christmas and planning a Sept. 22 wedding.
"He'll but up and ready to dance by then," fiancé Shelton said.
WSOC
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