OFF THE WIRE
Sarah Kramer
pennlive.com
SLOBBERY GREETINGS: Jon McHenry greets one of his two dogs in the living room of his Newport home. McHenry returned home following treatment in Virginia of wounds he received in Afghanistan. (Sarah Kramer photo)
It was a sunny Friday afternoon in the town of Newport. A home on North Fourth Street was adorned with a homemade sign “Welcome Home, Jon.”
Metallic balloons caught the sunlight and bounced delicately in the breeze. Two dogs pushed aside white curtains peering out a front window, as if in search of something ... or someone.
That someone, 22-year-old soldier Jon McHenry, made his way home that day.
A 2008 Newport High School graduate, McHenry was sent to eastern Afghanistan with the 89th Military Police Brigade in November 2011, a little over three years after enlisting in the Army.
Dec. 27, 2011 was an unfortunate day for McHenry and five of his fellow soldiers. Enemies set off a roadside bomb that damaged the armored truck McHenry was driving, killing three soldiers and seriously injuring him and two other soldiers.
The blast broke bones, damaged his bowels and injured his brain. His spleen had to be removed.
McHenry said he finally realized the severity of his injuries 12 to 13 days after the incident, having traveled from hospitals in Bagram, Afghanistan, and Germany.
“I remember everything up to the blast,” he said.
McHenry was sent to the Walter Reed/Bethesda military hospital after being treated overseas. His most recent location was Richmond, Va. at a special center for brain trauma.
He was cleared by doctors to make a trip home, after his speedy progress.
McHenry was unaware that he’d been escorted by members of the Guardian Knights motorcycle group, members of the Patriot Guard cycle club and other independent bikers who joined up with the McHenrys in Gettysburg.
When they reached Newport on Friday, McHenry hobbled out of a sports utility vehicle with nothing more than crutches and a brace on one of his legs.
McHenry was jovial and chatted with family and friends. His father, David McHenry, held a wheelchair out, asking if he’d like to sit. He refused and proceeded forward to find those excited dogs behind the front window, the family pets, Zeus and Thor.
“I really want to go inside and see my dogs. I haven’t seen them in six months,” said McHenry.
McHenry sank onto his living room couch, while people crowded in to wish him well.
His wife, Jae, sat beaming across the room, with a growing, pregnant belly.
After McHenry’s week home, he will head back to Walter Reed/Bethesda for more physical therapy, where his wife will give birth to the baby in May.
The Guardian Knights gave Jon and Jae a Harley-Davidson onesie for their unborn son, from Battlefield Harley-Davidson in Gettysburg.
They also gave David McHenry and his family a donation to use while Jon is home.
Jon is looking forward to getting some local grub, like his favorite wings from the VFW. This week also commemorates the 50th wedding anniversary of McHenry’s loving grandparents, Janet and Bill.
McHenry seemed overwhelmed with the community’s outpouring of support. Hundreds of residents of Newport lined the streets awaiting his return and many people stopped in to wish him well.
“It’s the right thing to do ... every member of the military should get this,” said Rick Cagno, president of the local Guardian Knights chapter.
McHenry’s father appeared teary-eyed as he watched on.
Jon continues to recover.
“He’s doing better in all aspects,” said his father.
