Jul 16, 2007 10:59 pm US/Central
Minnesotans Thank Returning Soldiers
by Heather Brown
(WCCO)
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Throngs of people welcomed the unit home after being deployed for more than a year and half.
CBS
As thousands of Minnesota National Guard members return home within the next few weeks, some ordinary Minnesotans are saying thank you.
For two years, thousands of people have donated more than $6 million to Minnesota service members through the
Minnesotans' Military Appreciation Fund. The grants range from $500 for all Minnesota military personnel who served in a combat zone, to $5,000 for families of fallen soldiers, to between $2,000 and $10,000 for those wounded in combat.
"They've made huge sacrifices and we often wonder, 'how do we properly say thank you?'" said Retired Air Force Brigadier General Denny Schulstad at a ceremony Monday night at Fort Snelling.
One of the recipients was National Guard Sergeant John Kriesel. He lost both his legs when his Humvee hit an IED in Fallujah in December of 2006. Kriesel has been undergoing therapy at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, his wife at his side, since that time.
"Words cannot express what the money has meant to my family," he said.
They've used the part of the grant money to help build a new handicapped-accessible home and allow his four and five-year-old boys to visit with their dad.
"That $10,000 has certainly helped with getting them back and not missing a crucial part of their life," Kriesel said.
His unit will return home from Iraq within the next few days. They had been deployed there for more than a year and half.
Kriesel and his wife drove to Minnesota this week to greet his fellow soldiers. He hopes to return for good before his son starts kindergarten in the fall. To him and many of the others who have already returned, the thoughts and prayers mean even more than the money.
Governor Tim Pawlenty told the crowd it's just one way to repay the service members for everything they've done and remind them they weren't forgotten.
"They are the most generous people in our country because they raise their hand and say 'yes, I'll go,'" Pawlenty said.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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