Wood Dale soldier happy to be home

Home.

Home is what Army National Guard Sgt. Carlos Velazquez said he missed almost as much as his family while serving a year in Afghanistan.

And home is where the 48-year-old veteran gets to be for now after a ceremony Saturday to welcome him back to Wood Dale.

“There is no place like home,” Velazquez said to a group of almost 100 people gathered at American Legion Post 1205 in Wood Dale. “Thank you so much.”

The nonprofit Operation Welcome You Home coordinated with Velazquez’s wife, Maura, to plan the event just days after he arrived home.

The gathering to honor Velazquez with a lunch at the American Legion post surprised the returning sergeant and his three boys — Carlos, 16, Daniel, 14 and Arturo, 13.

“It was a surprise,” Carlos said. “We didn’t think it would be that big.”

Neighbors, co-workers, fellow veterans and Wood Dale officials like Mayor Nunzio Pulice and Alderman Frank Lazzara waved American flags and held custom banners as a fleet of motorcycles and public safety vehicles drove the Velazquez family from breakfast at a local hotel to the ceremony’s location.

“I thought we were just going out for breakfast and that was it,” Velazquez said.

Several speakers thanked Velazquez for his sacrifices to protect the freedoms of the nation and his hometown.

“I’m just proud of him and happy that he’s home safe,” Maura Velazquez said.